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HISTORY 



STATE OF MAIiXE; 

rROM 

ITS FIRST DISCOVERY, A. D. 1602, 

TO 

THE SEPARATION, A. D TP^n INCLUSIVE. 

With an Appendix and General Index. 



Bt WILLIAM D^ WILLIAMSON, 

Correspond i II fj Member of llio Mass. Historical Society; 
and Member of Jlist Soc. in Maine 



A NEW IMPRESSION. 



IN TWO VOLUMES. 



VOIi. 1. 



lEjaiiomcll: 

GLAZIER, MASILRS <fe 3MITH. 
1839. 



.W73 



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PREFACE. 



An authentic History of this State has been long and much de- 
sired. Maine is a corner-pillar in the American Republic. Its ter- 
ritory equals one half of New-England, — its natural resources are 
great and various — its climate is good — its population now consider- 
ably exceeds 400,000, — and only two individual States have a 
greater extent of seaboard or more shipping. Several settlements 
have existed within its limits, more than two centuries ; through 
which period, as plantations have spread and multiplied, it has been 
the destiny of successive generations to struggle with wars and 
difficulties reiterated and uncommon, and to wade through suffer- 
ing? deep and indescribable. The last age, however, particularly 
since the American Revolution, has been a period of remarkable 
prosperity, apparent in the improvements, wealth and numbers of 
the people. 

_ To present, in a general historic view of such a State, the cir- 
cumstantial details of facts and events, so as to meet with universal 
acceptance, cannot be anticipated. Approbation, or censure, often 
springs from the motive of perusal ; nay, what alfords entertainment 
i.0 one, may be more than toil to another. All are never equally 
pleased with the same repast, for men as often differ in taste and 
opinion, as in feature and character. — As to parts and arrangement, 
it is presumed the Introductory Sections need no apology for their 
length, AS they give a history of nature, little less entertaining than 
that of culture and society. Should any one raise objections to the 
long Narratives of Indian Wars interspersed, it is believed, he must, 
on reflection and review, be fully con\inred, that any considerable 
abridgement of them would occasion an unsatisfying void ; — so 
much have the fortune and fate of the country, depended upon the 
amity or hostilities of the natives. Nor bv any means could t\w 
early history of this State possess the attribute of perspicuity, with- 
out frequent allusions to the annals of Nova Scotia ; as the po- 
litical affairs and current events in that Province, and in the east- 
ern parts of Sagadahock, were for a century, blended too entirely 
and perpetually, to be kept separate and distinct. The topographi- 
cal notes up»?n Towns contain fact? which could not with propriety 
be incorporated with the text, and yet were thought too valuable to 



PREFACE. 

be lost ; for descriptions of these municipalities are not only in- 
teresting to their respective inhabitants, — they are collectively the 
local chronicles of the State itself. 

This production, though it has cost the Compiler many years' 
unremitting labor, is presented to an enlightened community, with 
great diffidence : For he is sufficiently aware, that the arrangement, 
the style and the correctness, are to pass in review before many in- 
vidious bystanders, disposed to censure rather than to commend ; 
while the more alloyed parts are to be severely tested in the crucible 
of the critic. Nor perhaps ouglit any one in the present age to ex- 
pect a better destiny, who relates facts for the public eye, — designed 
for the perusal of all classes, under the responsibility of his name. 
The Historian, in short, is the devoted recorder of truth ; authentic 
annals are his stories ; and facts monumental as marble are the only 
materials allowed in his employment. It is a departure from duty 
and an imposition upon his readers, to give reins to his imagina- 
tion and freedom to his pen — permitting them to play with figures, 
flowers and phantoms in the fields of fancy. 

The Compiler's research for materials has been thorough, in the 
Libraries of the Capitol at Washington, the Boston Athen^um, the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Massachusetts' 
Historical Society. He has also made extracts from more than 
twenty volumes of the Massachusetts' Public Records, and from let- 
ters of 150 correspondents, residing in different parts of the State. 
The works of the oldest and best Authors have been carefully con- 
sulted ; — a list of whose names will be submitted. — Availing himself 
of all these and some other sources of information, he has written, 
with great care and assiduityj a General History of the State ; and 
the Public will determine, whether any expression appears, inconsis- 
tent with what is chaste and correct in religion, sentiment or fact, — 
or whether such an amount and variety of matter, distributed 
through a period of 200 years, could have been judiciously com- 
pressed within a narrower compass. The plan chosen may not have 
been the best ; for like surveyors and settlers in all new Countries, 
he has been obliged to traverse an unexplored region, where the 
footsteps of no predecessor to any considerable extent could be 
traced. Should the work possess the humble merit of being a useful 
compilation, he will not have labored in vain ; for man subserves 
the purposes of his moral existence, when he does what is a real 
benefit to his Country. 

Bansor. March 1S32. 



LIST OF AUTHORS CITED IN THIS HISTORY. 



A. 

Allen 'William) Biographical and Historical Dictionary, eri 1809. 

American and British Chronicle of War and Politics, from A. D. 1773 to 1783. 

Annual Register from A. D. 1776 to 1702. 

B 
Barton (Benj. S.) New Views, &c. of the Triljes in America. 
Belknap (Jeremy) History of New-Hampshire, 3 vols. 

American Biography, 2 vols. ed. 1694-8. 
Bigelo'.v (Jacob) American Medical Botany, 3 vols. ed. 1817. 
Eoiichette (Josepli) Topographical Description, &.c. of Canada, ed. 1315. 
Bradford (Alden) History of iVIassachusetts, 2 vols. ed. 1822. 
British Dominions in North America, from A. D. 1497 to 1763, ed. 1773. 
British Empire in America, 3 vols. [J. Oldmixon.] 

C. 
Chalmers (George) Political Annals of :he United Colonies to A. D. 1686, ed. 1780, 4to. 
Charlevoix ^Pere de) Historie et Disc. Gen. de la Neuville France, &,c. from A. D. 
1504 to 1731. 6 vols. 12mo. Paris ^i. 1744. [In 4th vol plates and 
dcscri:)tioii of 93 plants. See remark in vol. 5 upon M. r,'Escarbot, S 
Champlain, J. de Laet, M. Denys and Baron la Flontaii, as authors.] 
" " Travels in North America, ed. 1 763. 

Champlain (Sieur de) Voyages, &,c. dc la Canada, [from 1603 to 1629, j Pans ed. 1632. 
Chnrch (Benjamin,) 5 E.xpeditions Eastward, in second Indian War. 
Cleaveland (Farker) Treatis* on Mineralogy and Geology. 

Collections of Mass. Historical .Society, 10 vols. — 2d series, 5 vols. — 3d series, 3 vols, 

Mtjssrs. Farmer &. Moore, New-Hampshire, 2 vols. 

New-Hampshire Historical Society, 2 vols, [for 1324-6.] 

Maine Historical Society, ed. 1832. 

D. 

Denys"(M.) Geog. and Hist. Discription of North America, and Natural History of the 

country, 2 vols. 
Delaplaine (Joseph) Repository — Biog'aph. of Ariierican Character!, with plates. 
Douglass (William) Summary , of British Seltiuments in North America, 2 vols. ed. 1749. 

E. 
Edwards (Dr. Jonathan) Observations, SsC. on the Mubhekaneew Indians, ed. 17SG. 
Eliot (John) Biographical Dictionary, ed. 1809. 
European Setilcmenis (Account of) in America, ed. 17G0. 

F. 
Folsor-! (George) History of Saco and Biddeford, ed. 1830. 

G. 
Gordon (William) History of the United States, 3 vols. ed. 1789. 
Greenleaf (Mo^es) Survey of the State of Maine, Statistics, &c. ed. 1829. 

(Jonathan) Sketches of tiie Ecclesiastical History of Mairie, ed. 1921. 
Gorges (Fcrdinando) Description of .New-England, ed. 1639. 

H. 
Halliburton's History of Nova Scotia, 2 vols. 
Hazard (Ebenezer) Historical Collections, 2 vols. 4to. ed. 1792-4. 
Heckeweldcr (John) Writing,? as to the Indians, Sic. A. Phil. Soc. Philadol ed. 1819. 
Holmes (Abiel) American Annals, 2 vciU, 



LIST OF AUTHORS. 

Hubbard (William) Genera) History of New-England, ed. 1815. 

Narrative of the Indian Wars, Sfc. A. D. 1607 — 77, Worces. ed. 1801 
Hutchinsoi. (Thomas) History of Massachusetts, 2 vols. ed. 1795. 
Collection of State Papers, ed. 1769. 

J. 
Jeffreys (Thomas) History of the French Dominions in N. ^ S. Ainer. ed. 1760, folio. 
JoEcelyii (John) Account of two Voyages to New-England, ed. 1674. 

L. 
Laet (John de) Novua Orbis, sen Des, in. Occ. ed. 1633. 
La Honir.n (Baron) New Voyages to America, 2d ed. 1706, 3d ed. 1735. 

Letters, from 1683 to 1696, 2 voir 
Laws of Massachusetts, Colonial, Provincial, — State, General and Special, and Char- 
ters, 10 vols. 
L'Escarbot (Mark) History, 8vo. A. D. J 609. 

M. 
Mather (Cotton) Magnalia, or History of New-England, 2 vols. Hartford ed. 1820. 
Memoirs of the War, &c. from A. D. 1744 to 1748, Treaty of Aix laChapelle, ed. 1758. 
Minot (George R.) Continuation of the History of Massachusetts, 2 vols. 
Moll (Herman) Geography, 3d. ed. 1700. 
Morse (Jedidiah) American Universal Geography. 
Morton (Nathaniel) New-England Memorial, ed. 1772. 

N. 
Neal (Daniel) History of New-England, ed. 1742. 

O. 

Ogilby (John) America ; or Description of the New World, London ed. 1671, folio. 

P. 
Palairet (John) Description of the English and French Possessions in N. A. ed. 1755. 
Penhallow (Samuel) History of the Indian Wars, A. D. 1703 to 1713. 
Prince (Thomas) Chronological History of New-England, ed. 1736. 
Purchas (Samuel) Pilgrimage. 

R. 
Records, Resolves, and Journals tif Massachusetts Government, 30 vols. 
Remembrancer, from 1775 to 1784. 
Rcynal (Abbe) Historic Phil, et Pol. .^c. 5 and 6 Tome, ed. Hague, 1774. Translated 

ed. 1782. 
Rouchefoucault Liancourt (Duke de la) in United States and Canada, 1795-7. 
Rogers (Robert) concise account of North America, 1 vol. 

S. 
Sketches of New Brunswick. [Chubb and Sears] ed, 1825. 
Smith (John) History of North and South Virginia. 

(Thomas) Journal of Falmouth, fyc. A. D. 1720 to 1787, ed. 1821. 
Sullivan (James) History of the District of Maine, ed. 1795. 

T. 
Trumbull (Benjamin) History of Connecticut, 2 vols. ed. i813. 
(Henry) History of the Indian Wars, ed. 1819. 

U. 
Univer.sal History,— vols. 39, 40, 41, ed. 1763-4. 

W, 
Willis (William) History of Portland. 
Williams (Samuel) History of Vermont, 2 vols. ed. 1809. 
Winthrop (John) Journal from 1630 to 1645, ed. 1790. 
Wynne's History of the British Empire in America to 1763, 2 vols. 

Y. 
Young ('V A : His-.DTv oi North and South America, 2 vols. 12mo. 



s 



CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 



INTRODUCTION. Page 10 to 182. 

Sec. 1. The limits of the Stale; 2d, its Geography; 3d, its Climate; 
4th, its Vegetable Productions ; 5th, its Native Animals ; and 6th, its Min- 
erals. 

A. D. CHAPTER I. p. 183—203. 

1602-3. Gosnold's and Pring's voyages to this country. 

1603-4. Ue Monts' Patent of Acadia, and his visits to St. Croix. 

1605. Weymouth's, Chalons' and Hanham's voyages to our coasts, 

1606. North and South V^irginia Patent granted. 
1607-8. Sagadahock Colony commenced and terminated. 

CHAPTER II. p. 204—219. 

1609-lC. French settlements at Port Royal, Quebec and Mount Desert. — 
South Virginia and Newfoundland plantations. R. Vines' 
visits to Saco river. 

1611-12. Voyages of Argal, Somers and Harlow noticed. 

1613. Eastern French subdued by Argal. 

1811. Smith's and Hunt's visits at Sagadahock. Smith's Map and His- 
tory of New-England. 

1615. Attempts to effect settlemfjuts in Maine. 

1615-18. Wars, famine and plague among the Indians of New-England. 

Ifll7-19. The designs of Vines, Smith, Rocroft and Dermer, to effect 
plantations, unsuccessful. 

1620. Naw-Plymouth Colony planted. 

CHAPTER ITl. p. 220—244. 

1620. The Council of Plymouth, in England, established, and the Grand 

Patent granted. 
1621-2. Mariana, Nova Scotia, Laconia — Patents granted. Monhcgan 

peopled. 

1623. Saco, New-Hampshire, Sagadahock, an! Pem.iquid settled. Rob- 

ert Gorges, Governor of New-England, arrives. Sir Ferdi- 
nando defends the Grand Patent, 

1624. Settlement of Agamenticus and patents there. 

1625. King Charles' marriage with a French Princess, — the occasion of 

subsequent evils to this country, 

1626. Monhegan purchased by Elbridgeand Aldsworth. Trading house 

at Penobscot erected. 
1627-8. Keunebeck and Massachusetts' Patents granted ; the Kirks take 

Canada. 
1629-30. New-Hampshire— Cammock's—Kennebeck — Saco— Lygonia and 

Musconffus Patents obtained from the Plymouth CouDciI. 
IS31. Pemaquid Patent granted— settlements on the Eastern coasts. 



XII CONTENTS. 

A. D. 

1677-83. The measures of Gov. Andros at Sag-adahock, He is succeeded 
by Mr. Dung-an, Gov. of that Province and New- York. 

1685-6. Death of Charles II. and accession of James II. who reappoints 
Dungan, Gov. of N. York and Sagadahock. His measures of ad- 
ministration under Palmer and West, in the Duke's Province. 

1683. March, — Dung-an superseded by E. Andros, Commander-in-Chief 
over New-Eng-land, including Sag'adahock, New- York and the 
Jersies. The grievances of his administration. He seizes upon 
Penobscot, and orders the fort at Pemaquid to be rebuilt. His 
eastern expedition. He establishes in Sagadahock and Maine, 
eleven garrisons or forts. 

1689. April. — Gov. Andros and his adherents seized and thrown into 

prison, A Council of Safety formed. The Gen. Court of Mas- 
sachusetts convened under the Colony Charter. James II. ab- 
dicates the British throne, and William and Mary proclaimed. 
The administration of President Danforth reestablished and his 
Council named. The command of the eastern military given to 
Col. Tyng and Maj. Frost. War between England and France. 

1690. Conquest of Nova Scotia by Sir W. Phips. Unfortunate expedi- 

tion against Canada. First paper money issued. 

1691. Charter of William and Mary granted — embracing Massachusetts, 
New-Plymouth, Maine and Sagadahock. 

CHAPTER XXIII. p. 604—650. 

1688. King William's or the 2d Indian War. Its causes. The Saga- 

mores mentioned. North-Yarmouth assailed. New-Dartmouth 
and Sheepscot destroyed — also Dover, in New-Hampshire. 

1689. English captives first sold in Canada. Pemaquid burnt. 1st East. 

Expeditionof Maj. Church. Defeats the enemy at Falmouth. 

1690. Berwick destroyed. Falmouth laid waste. The garrisons at Pur- 

pooduck, Spurwink and Scarborough, retire to Saco, and thence 
to Wells. Church's 2d E. Expedition. Visits Androscoggin. 

1691. Attacks on Wells ; and Cape Neddock laid in ashes. 

1692. Feb. — A great part of York burnt. Wells attacked. Church's 

3d E. Expedition. Fort William Henry erected at Pemaquid. 

1693. A stone fort built at Saco-falls. A truce. 

1694. Attack on Kittery. Indians seized at Saco and Pemaquid. 

1695. A parley at Rutherford's Island — not far from the new fort. 

1696. July. — Fort William Henry surrendered to the enemy by Chubb. 

Church's 4th E. Expedition. He ascends the Penobscot, then 
proceeds to Passamaquoddy and the bay of Fundy. 

1697. Maj. Frost killed. A skirmish at Damariscotta. Treaty of Rys- 

wick negotiated. 
1698-9. Indians sue for peace. Treaty of Mare-point. Losses. 

APPENDIX. 

No. 1.— Patent of Acadia to De Monts : Nov. 8, 1603. Page 651 

2 Patent of Nova Scotia to Sir W. Alexander. Sept. 10, 1621. 655 

3. — Narrative of Mrs. Hannah Swarton's Captivity, 1690-5. 657 



INTRODUCTION. 



GEOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF MAINE. 

In perusing the History of a country, it is desirable to have a 
previous acquaintance witli its geography and natural productions. 
A view, therefore, is now to be taken of this State under the fol- 
lowing arrangement of particulars : — 

Sec. I. The situation, extent and boundaries of Maine. 

II. The face of the country, seacoast, rivers, mountains 
and soils. 

III. The air, climate and seasons. 

IV. The natural growths — trees, shrubs, plants, roots and 

vines. 
V. The native animals — beasts, birds, fishes, vermes, rep- 
tiles, and insects. 
VI. INIinerals. 
Our remarks upon these several subjects are intended to relate 
exclusively to this State ; and in exploring such difficult and un- 
trodden grounds, facts and fidelity, without perfect descriptions, 
are all which ought reasonably to be expected. 

SECTION I. 

Situation, extent and boundaries. 
The state of Maine is situated between 43° 4' and 48'' 6' north 
latitude; and 60 50 and 70* 53 west longitude from London ; Lntinuip and 
or between 6 15', and 10 18', east longitude from the capitol °"^'" "' 
at Washington.* 

* Maine was called Mavesken or ^^lavooshen, by ancient voyagers and 
writers. In Purchas' Pilgrims, Mr. Hakluyt describes it to be "a country 
lying to tlie north and east of Virginia, between tlie degrees of 43 and 45. 
It is 40 leagues broad and 50 in length, lying in breadth cast and west and 
in length north and south. It is bordered on the east side with a couatrj', 
the people whereof they call Tarrantines; on the west with Ephistoma; 
on the north with a great wood, called Senaglecouna ; and on the south 
with the main ocean, sea, and many islands. In MaTooshen it seemeth 
there are nine rivers— the westernmost of which is Shawacotoc [Saco]. 
Vol. I. 2 



10 BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT [Introduc. 

Extent. The southwesterly extremity of the State is Kittery point, on 

the eastern bank of Piscataqua river at its mouth, in latitude 43° 
4' and in longitude 78' 34' west from London. Its western line 
from that point, which separates it from New-Hampshire, is 148 
miles in length ; its northern line, which divides it from Canada, 
is about 290 miles long, in a direct course ; its eastern line, be- 
ginning at West-Quod dy-head, the southeastwardly corner of the 
State, in latitude 44' 43' north, and in longitude 66° 60' east 
from London, and extending thence to the northeast corner of 
the State, is about 234 miles long, and divides Maine from New- 
Brunswick. Its southerly line from Kittery point to West-Quod- 
dy-head, in a direction of N. E. by E. and in a straight course, 
is about 220 miles. 

Area. Its area has been variously estimated : Some have supposed it 

embraced a territory equal to 200 miles square, and consequently 
to contain a surface of 40,000 square miles, or 25,600,000 acres 
in land and water ; but by investigation, the State includes a ter- 
raqueous surface of about 35,000 square miles.* Of this it has 
been said one sixth part may be deducted, being covered with 
water. 

Boundaries. But in giving an exact description of the extent and boundaries 
of Maine, it is necessary to go into particulars. 

As we find its western line laid down in Gorges' charter, A. D. 

Western 1539^ j^nd in that of William and Mary, A. D. 1691, it runs, 



me or 



1 

bounds. « f|-om the entrance of Piscataqua harbour up through the same 
into the river Newichawannock and through the same into the 
farthest head thereof, and from thence northwestwards, till one 
hundred and twenty miles be finished." 

Massachusetts and New-Hampshire had a long controversy 
about this line ; — to settle which, a comimission was issued, April 
9, 1737, under the great seal of England, to twenty colony coun- 
cilors, selected from New-York, New-Jersey, Rhode-Island and 

At the head of this river — to the northwest, there is a small province 
which they call Crokeinago, wherein is one town" — probably the Indian 
Peg-waket, 10 Purchai' Pil. chap. 1. A Description of the Counb-y of 
J)Iavooshen, discovered by the English in the years 1602, 3, 5, 6, 7, S and 9. 

* Geographers have estimated the residue of New- England at 32,232 
square miles, thus, Vermont 10,237 ; New-Hampsliire 9,491 ; Massachu- 
setts 6,250 ; Rhode-Island 1,580, and Connecticut 4,G"4 square miles. Jlr. 
Greenleaf, in his survey, states the contents of Maine to be 33,223 square 
miles, or 21,263,000 acres, as estimated "under the head of grants and 
sales of lands." 



Sect, i.] OF Maine. 1 1 

Nova-Scotia ; of whom any five were to constitute a quorum 
" for settling, adjusting and determining the respective boundaries line. 
of Massachusetts and New-Hampshire in dispute." 

Seven of them after holding a session in Hampton, New-Hamp- 
shire, and hearing the parties, made their determination, Septem- 
ber 2, 1737, — " that the dividing line shall pass up through the 
mouth of Piscataqua harbour and up the middle of the river into 
the river Newichawannock, part of which is now called Salmon 
Falls, and through the middle of the farthest head thereof, and 
from thence north 2" westerly, until 120 miles be finished from 
the mouth of Piscataqua harbour aforesaid, or until it meets with 
his Majesty's other governments ; that the same dividing line 
shall part the Isles of Shoals and run through the middle of the 
harbour between the Islands, to the sea on the southerly side ; 
and that the southwesterly part of the said Islands shall lie in and 
be accounted part of the Province of New-Hampshire and the 
northeasterly part belong to JMaine." But the parties, not being 
satisfied, had a hearing before the king in council ; and on the 5th 
of March, 1740, he settled and estabhshed the line, "north 2° 
west, true course, or nortli 8' east by the needle."* 

Still the contending Colonies could not agree on a surveyor to 
run and mark the line ; and therefore New-Hampshire in 1741, 
expnrte , employed Walter Bryant to perform that service. Ac- 
cordingly, he began in that year at the mouth of the harbour, 
and run up the river in a north-northwest course through the river 
Newichawannock and Salmon Fall river, to its most northerly 
head, which is a pond partly in New-Hampshire and partly in 
Maine, about forty miles as the river runs, from the mouth of 
Piscataqua harbour. It is now called Lovell's pond, and is fed 
by two streams, viz. the easterly and westerly branches ; " the 
former of which was found to be the largest and to vent the most 
water." 

Bryant thence proceeded north, 2'' west, in conformity to the 
royal determination, 30 miles, and marked the line as he survey- 
ed it ; but it being in March, and the snows melting, he was 
obliged to stop there, leaving 60 miles of the line unsurveyed. 

Massachusetts objected, that Bryant had taken the wrong 

♦See table of variation of the compass at Boston, Portland, and Penob- 
scot, from A. D. 1672 to ISOO, by Professor John Winthrop. 16 Silliman's 
travels, p. 63. 



12 



Westerly 
line. 



Northwest 
corner. 



BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT [InTRODUC. 

branch ; and in 1767, applied to New-Hampshire upon the sub- 
ject. But it had no effect, for the latter, regardless of the objec- 
tion, appointed one Isaac Rindge, the next year, to complete the 
survey. — He began where Bryant left off, and ran and marked a 
line on the same course, by the compass, 35 miles farther, 
to a point about sixteen miles northward of Androscoggin river, 
and six below lake Umbagog. But, because the needle then 
in fact traversed westerly less than it did when Bryant surveyed, 
Rindge's line had a westerly inclination, still more than that of 
his predecessor. 

The next survey was undertaken after the definitive treaty of 
1783, by Messrs. Cramm and Eames, whom New-Hampshire, in 
1789, appointed surveyors, to complete the line. They pursued 
the same course by the needle as Bryant and Rindge had done, 
without regard to its perpetual traverse eastwardly. and thus gave 
their line a still further inclination westerly. They made their 
report in January, 1790. It seems they began below where 
Rindge left the line, at a point 16 miles and 240 rods south of Um- 
bagog lake ; thence to it and across a branch of it 54 rods wide ; 
thence a mile and 3-4ths on the east side of the lake ; thence 
4 miles and 3-4ths, over the lake to its northerly edge ; thence 2 
miles and 226 rods to Magallaway river, ten rods wide, a branch of 
Androscoggin ; and thence to the high lands, 54 miles from the 
N. E. corner of Shelburne, where they began ; that is, 37 miles 
and l-4th north of the southerly edge of Umbagog lake, and 
148 from the mouth of Piscataqua harbour. 

At that place they marked a large birch tree, which stands on 
those highlands, thus, " N. E. 54 m. New-Hampshire, 1789;" 
and consequently this is reputed to be the northwest corner 
of Maine. Its west line is thus 28 miles longer than that express- 
ed in the charters either to Gorges or to the Massachusetts 
Province. 

From this monument the northerly line of Maine is nearly a 
N. E. general course, passing along the highlands (where are 
found the sources of the streams which run northwardly into the 
Chaudiere and southwardly into the Kennebec) 50 miles to a noted 
monument called " Mile Tree," on the height of land. It is a 
large birch marked with marking irons ; and 20 other trees there- 
abouts are marked in a similar way, with the names of persons, 
or with the initials of their names. This conspicuous place, in lat. 
45° 48', is on the road from Kennebec to Canada, distant about 44 



Sect, i.] of maine. 13 

miles from the crotch, or mouth of Dead River, as the road runs. 
South of east from Mile Tree is Bald mountain, a lofty height near 
a league in length. 

The residue of the northerly line of Maine being unsettled, and 
in controversy, it is proper to consider the other boundaries 
which are established, before we proceed with this. 

The southerly boundary of the State begins at a point in a line Snuiherly 
S. S. E. from " the entrance into Piscataqua harbour," 60 
miles distant, and thence extends northeastwardly along the 
Atlantic waters of the coast, enclosing all the Islands within twenty 
leagues of the main land, to Passamaquoddy bay.* 

All the country east of the State, till the year 1785 was called ,1',^^]*"'^ 
JVova-Scotia : and the partition or boundary line which divides it 
from Maine or New-England has been the subject of repeated 
controversy. The English and French long contended about it ; 
nor did the treaty of Utrecht, 1713, by which the latter ceded 
the country to the former, settle the dispute. Commissioners, of 
whom Gov. Shirley was one, attempted in 1751 to settle it, but • 
in vain : — it only ended in the conquest of Canada, to be revived 
by the English and Americans after the treaty of 1783. 

By the Charter to Sir WilUam Alexander, Sept. 10, 1G21, 
Nova-Scotia extended westward " to the river St. Croix, and to 
*' the fartiiest source or spring which first comes from the west to 
" mingle its waters with those of that river ; from thence by a 
" straight imaginary line crossing the lands or running towards 
" the north as far as the first bay, river, or spring which runs into 
" the great river of Canada, and from thence continuing eastward 
" to the sea, along the shores of the river of Canada, to the river, 
" bay, or latitude of Gaspe.f 

On the 7ih of Oct. 1763, the new Province of Quebec, was 
erected, and its southern boundary was a line " passing along the 



* Gorges' Cliarter says " witliin ^»e leagues ;"— and the Charter of 

William and Mary swys within <tn leagiirs, directly o|)|>osite to the main 
land ; bill in the Treaty of Sept 3, 1783 "all Islands within <u:en<i/ leagues 
of any part of the shores" are embraced. Art. II. 

t In the Commissions of Montague Wilmot, dated October, 1763, and 
Francis Legge, dated 1766, the Governors of Nova-Scotia, we find that 
Colony and their jurisdiction to be limited, and — "bounded on the west- 
" ward by a line drawn from Cape Sable, across the entrance of the bay of 
" Fundy, to the mouth ot' the river St. Croix ; by the said river to its source, 
" and by a line drawn due north ; from thence to the southern Boundary 
" of our Province [Colony] of Quebec." 



14 



BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT 



[Introduc. 



" highlands which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the 
" river St. LawTence, from those which fall into the sea :" — And 
the Act of Parliament, Oct. 7, 1774, for governing that Pro- 
vince, draws the line " from the bay of Chaleur, along the high- 
" lands which divide the rivers that empty into the St. Lawrence, 
" from those that fall into the sea, to a point in 45' of N. latitude." 
With these data and Mellish's map before the American and 
British Commissioners, who negociated the treaty of peace, signed 
Sept. 3, 1783, they in the 2d article, described the boundary to 
be " from the northwest angle of Nova-Scotia, viz. that angle 
" which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source of 
" St. Croix river to the highlands ; along the said highlands which 
" divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Law- 
" rence, from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean, to the 
" northwesternmost head of Connecticut river." 

Afterwards doubts arose what was the river intended by the 
name " St. Croix,^^ mentioned ; and hence, pursuant to the 5th 
article of the treaty, signed Nov. 19, 1794, Commissioners were 
appointed, by each government, to determine that question. They 
first met at Halifax, and ultimately made their report Oct. 25, 
1798, by which it was settled, that the intended river, "St. 
Croix," had its source in the head of a stream called Che- 
putnetecook, [Schoodic,] at a stake near a certain yellow birch 
tree, about 5 miles and 3-4ths of a mile north of the point where 
that stream empties into the Schoodic lake ; and there they estab- 
lished a Monument, in lat 45° 48 , which is a yellow birch tree, 
hooped with iron and marked " S. T. and I. H. 1797, called 
the " Eastern Monument."* 

Yet, there were three islands in the Passamaquoddy bay, at 
the mouth of the Schoodic, near the western shore, viz. Moose 
Island, Dudley Island and Frederic Island, which being occupied 
and claimed by the Americans, were seised upon in the late war 
by the British, and not surrendered till John Holmes and Thomas 
Barclay, Commissioners appointed under the 4th article of the 
treaty of Ghent, decided, Nov. 24, 1817, that they belonged to the 

* Samuel Tilcomb and John Harris were the surveyors.— Thomas Barc- 
laj', David Howell, and Egbert Benson, were the Commissioners.— In 1817 
the siirTeyors under the treaty of Ghent erected a new monument, a 
few feet north of the former, consisting of a large cedar post with large 
rocks about it, marked July 31, 1817. Jos. Bouchctte and John Johnson, 
surveyors. — Grcenlcaf. 



Sect, i.] of Maine. 16 

United States; and that allother Islands in Passamaquoddy bay, 
including Grand-Manan, belong to bis Britanic Majesty, accord- 
ing to " tbc true intent of article 2d in the treaty of 1783." 

The eastern boundary line therefore of Maine, which divides i^a^iem 
it from New-Brunswick, passes from Wcst-Quoddy-head, up the 
channel on the east side of these Islands, through the middle of 
Schoodic river, and Schoodic lake, to the mouth of Cheputnete- 
cook stream, and thence to its source at the Eastern Monument ; 
which is distant from West-Quoddy-head, in a direct nortiiwest- 
erly course, about 90 miles. The line however if followed as the 
lakes lie and river runs, would considerably exceed 100 miles 
in length. 

But neither tlie boundary divisional line rimning north from that Nonhoriy 
monument and separating Maine from New-Brunswick ; nor the wardiTline. 
north line of the State extending northeastwardly from " Mile 
Trce'^ along the highlands, dividuig Canada from Maine, and inter- 
secting or crossing the other at tlie northeast corner of the State, 
has as yet been fully established. 

Under the 5th article of the treaty of Ghent, 1814, Thomas p„^^is. 

Barclay and Cornelius Van Ness were appointed Commissioners '',""^'^;j. \^^^ 

bv the British and American eovernments to survey and deter- '^':"''' fP" 
■' _ ° ^ ■' poimed. 

mine these line- and boundaries. The Commissioners and Agents 
had no less than eleven meetings ; the first was at St. Andrews 
on die 23d of Sept. 1816, and the last at New- York, April 13, 
1822. 

They caused two surveying parties to be appointed, one Amer- 
ican and the odier English, and gave them instructions to begin at 
the Eastern Monument and run a line due north to some stream 
that empties into the St. Lawrence. Each party was to mark all 
elevations and rivers, compare notes and reconcile variations 
every morning ; and on an agreed boundary to cut away the trees 
eisiht feet on each side of the line, and to mark every mile. Also ^ 
they appointed an exploi ing party to survey the highlands towards °f«iertHi. 
the head of Connecticut river ; to examine the sources of the 
streams, which empty themselves into the St. Lawrence and into 
tlie Adantic ; and to return a plan of 80 chains to an inch. 

In 1817 and 1818, the line running north of the eastern Mon- 
ument was surveyed ; and afterwards, plans of the surveys were 
reported. Also an exploring view was taken of the highlands, 
northerly and soudierly of die St. John river to its sources, and to 
those of Penobscot ; and the American surveyor made a general 



16 BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT [IntroDUC. 

Eastern plan ; but the Commissioners could not agree, where to establish 
the boundary lines. 

Mr. Van Ness insisted that the line on the east side of the State 
ought to be thus established : — to begin at the Eastern Monument 
and run due north across Bull's branch to Meduxnekeag south 
branch 19 miles, to the north branch 22 and ^ miles, to Presque 
Isle 35, to Goosequill 43, to Des Chutes 45, to Aroostic 59, to 
Limestone 63, and to the main St. John 77, the others emptying 
into the latter ; thence continuing due north, across the Resti- 
gouche 101 miles, the Mempticook 114, and the Memkeeswee or 
Katvvamkisway, in all 131 miles from the Monument, also over a 
branch of the Metepediac, a tributary to the Restisrouche which 

144 mile . . 

corner. falls into the Bay Chaleur, reaching the highlands 144 miles* 
north of the Monument, these highlands being found to divide the 
waters last mentioned from those of Beaver Stream and the Metis, 

N. E. comer 

of Maine, which fall into the St. Lawrence ; the end of the line to be the 
angle or " the 144 Mile Corner •j'^ and by estimation 234 miles 
from West-Quoddy-head. 

The same Commissioner drew the northern boundary line, 
which divides Maine from Canada, thus : — To commence at the 
144 Mile Corner, f viz. at the northwest angle of Nova-Scotia, 
and thence passing the sources of Memkeeswee or grand Fourche 
and second fork of the lakes, emptying into the St. John, to the 

Tuiadi head or spring of Tuladi river, J which empties into Temiscouata 
lake, 50 miles from the corner ; thence by the head waters of 
that lake to the source of the eastern branch of the St. Francois, 
around the sources of the Grand and Petit du Trois Pistoles, 
which latter two empty into the St. Lawrence, to the source of the 
main St. Francois ; thence between the western source of the St. 
Francois and of Green River, which run into the St Lawrence, 
to the source of the Petit St. John, about 80 miles, W. S. W. 
direct course,§ from " the 144 Mile Corner ;" thence passing the 

Northern ^^^^ of Black rivcr, and the sources of the northwest and west 

line. branches of the St. John nearest the waters of the river La 

* Lat. 48° 8', 

t The Charter to the Plymouth Council, Nov. 3, 162C, extended to the 
4Stli dcg'. nortli latitude. Fide post. Chap. III. 

I Tuladi mouth is in lat. 47Jeg. 4a' and Ion. 68deg-. 48'; and 15 miles 
above its mouth it receives the waters of Squattack lake. 

5 But the distance, as the line runs, is about 120 miles. 



Sect, i.] of Maine. 17 

Famine, and the source of the Penobscot, nearest to Met2;armette, Nortiiern 
which empties into the river dii Loup about 1 60 miles, direct 
course S. S. W to " Mile Tree ;" — about 240 miles, from the 
" 144 Mile Corner." Proceeding from Mile Tree it runs south- 
westerly between the sources of du Loup and Moose rivers, and * *'"° 
by the sources of Dead and Magalloway rivers to Sunday moun- 
tain ; and thence to the northwest corner of Maine, where it 
angles on New-Hampshire, as before described, 50 miles from 
Mile Tree, making the northern line 290 miles in length. * 

The Government of Canada has caused nearly all the country 
between the St. Lawrence and the northern line of Maine from tlie 
Chaudiere, toward the river Pistoles, to be surveyed into town- 
ships, and in many places these surveys have run over the true 
divisional boimdary.f 

In several places the streams run from their sources In opposite 
directions northerly and southerly, and of course render the line 
zigzag and illshapen, and multiply the difficulties of establishing it 
with satisfactory correctness and precision. 

The American Commissioner and Agent, in proving the eastern n. and E. 
lines just described to be the true divisional bounds intended by 
the treaty of 1783, say, 1, that the phraseology, in the Charter 'he dispuir. 
to Sir William Alexander — in the royal order for erecting Canada 
into a Province — in the Parliamentary Act for governing it, and 
especially in the treaty itself, forms a connected argument in favour 
of the position. 2. The Geography of the country gives it great 
strength ; for the rivers Chaudiere, Quelle, Hamourasky, du 
Loup, Verte, Trois Pistoles, Rimousky and Metis or Beaver river, 
are the only rivers opposite Maine which empty themselves into 
the St. Lawrence on its southerly side ; all which have been vis- 
ited by the surveyors. On the other hand, the rivers running into 
tlie AUantic are the Restigouche, the Meramichi, the St. John, 
the St. Croix, the Penobscot, the Kennebec and their tributaries ; 
and these with the excej)tions of Meramichi and St. Croix, have 
their sources near to the sources of the streams which run into 
the St. LauTence. The lands between the Restigouche and 
Metis, about the 144 Mile Corner, are so elevated, that they may 
be called the heights of land. 3. There is proof also in the 

*The above descriptive lines are drawn from the papers of the Commis- 
sioners and Surveyor, iu tho secretary of State's office, Washing^ton. 
t G rcenleaf. 



18 BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT [InTRODUC. 

N. and E. case, not only by what was done in the Massachusetts Legislature 
Thedis I '" I'^GO, and by Governors Shirley, Pownal, and Bernard, at 
other times relating to the boundaries in this quarter : but in what 
has been attested by the Plenipotentiaries of 1783, as appears by 
Doct. Franklin's letter, 1790, and the affidavits of Mr. Adams 
and Mr. Jay, Aug. 1797 and May 1798, who say that they had 
Mellish's Map before them, and marked the eastern boundary of 
Massachusetts Province, [Maine,] as expressed in her second 
charter, that being the intended boundary of the United States. 
4. In the commission appointed to determine what was the true 
St. Croix, the British made it a matter of great interest to have 
the river Cheputnetecook adopted, because their Plenipotentiary 
said " it would give a greater extent of navigation on the St. John 
to his Majesty's subjects :" — Yet how, if the line was in no wise 
to cross the St. John ? — is the question. 

But the British Commissioner and Agent, insisted that the di- 
visional or boundary line ought to commence at Mars Hill* 40 
miles north of the Eastern Monument, and extend thence south- 
westwardly, over and along the highlands between the waters of 
the St. John and of the Penobscot, to Mile Tree. They argue 
that these are the highest lands between the Atlantic and the St. 
Lawrence : that in this direction, 60 miles distant from Mars Hill, 
are Spencer Mountains, which have a chain of high hills to the 
northward ; and to the southward is the great Katahdin ; and not 
far from " Mile Tree" is Bald mountain, and between the two 
latter, northward, are many miles of connected, high and broken 
ridges interspersed with ponds and streams : that the lands be- 
tween the heads of Beaver stream, the Metapediac and Grand 
Fourche,f about the pretended " 144 Mile Corner,^' have only 
one high point ; and then, especially at the north, there is a wide 
spread meadow, occasioned by a Beaver dam ; and farther west 
is a swamp, and then a valley from which low grounds the water 
merely moves northerly or southerly from sources only 20 rods 
apait : that the Plenipotentiaries could not in the treaty of peace 
ever have intended to go over the mountains and high lands above 
mentioned, to these meadows, vallies, and swamps, to fix or find 
a national boundary : that they moreover must have intended to 

* lu Lat. 46deg. 30'. It is 1500 feet higher than the tide waters in the 
St. Lawrence. 

f The Grand Fourche is 131 miles above the monument. 



Sect, i.] of Maine. 19 

secure to their governments respectively the whole of those rivers N. and E. 
which empticfl tluMnsclvcs in their own territories, else would they Tiie.ispuie. 
have made provision for the mutual navigation of tiiein : that ac- 
cording to Gov. Pownal's topographical description, published in 
177G, " all the heads of Kennebec, Penobscot and Passatnnquod~ 
dy rivers, are on the heiglits of land running east-northeast" — an- 
swering to the highlands from Mars Hill westward ; and Mr. Sul- 
livan under the commission of 1798, described the line as running 
" from the source of St. Croix to the highlands" — Mars Hill 
being the highest land between the Monument and the St. Law- 
rence : that by the " Secret Journal of Congress," the American 
Ministers were instructed to negociate a boundary line " drawn 
along the middle of St, John river from its source to its mouth in 
the bay of Fundy" — otherwise to have it "adjusted by Commis- 
sioners, according to such line as should be by them settled ;" 
evidently having in mind only the highlands southerly of the St. 
John : and that, in fine, all tJic waters mentioned fall either into 
the Atlantic or the St. Lawrence, except the Restigouche and the 
St. John, which fall into bays spacious and well known by name 
and not into th^ " Atlantic" in contemplation of those who framed 
the treaty. 

Each Commissioner made to his own government a long and 
elaborate rej)ort of facts and arguments, of which the preceding 
is a very concise synopsis.* The territory in dispute is about 
10,705 square miles, viz. south of St. John river 5,592, and 
north of that river 5,113, being nearly a third part ol the whole 
State of Maine. f 

* These proceedings, including', the surveys, journals, arguments and re- 
ports — are very voluminous, and in manuscript, — now in the office of Sec'y 
of State, at Washington, covering near a thousand pages, 

.Moses Grcenleaf, Esq. in his "Survey of Maine"— pp. 70 — 85 — has given 
many correct and interesting particulars relative to ttie northern waters, 
rivers, and streams of this State; which the compiler of tliis History 
believes it inexpedient to repeat. 

f To settle the controversy, agreeably to the 5th article of the treaty 
of Ghent, the subject was referred, January 12, 1829, to William, king of 
the Netherlands, who gave it as his opinion, Jan'y 10, 1831, that the boun- 
dary line be drawn due north from the source of the river St. Croix to the 
point where it intersects tiie channel of the river St. John ; thence ascend- 
ing the same channel to trie point whore the river SI. Francois empties 
itself into that of the St. John ; thence ascending the channel of the St. 
Francois to the source of its southwestcmmost branch ; thence, a line 



20 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

The greatest width of the State, on the parallel of latitude 
from Quoddy-head to New-Hampshire, is about 198 miles ; from 
the Eastern Monument, directly west across the State to Canada 
line, a little north of Mile Tree, is about 130 miles only ; while 
the greatest length of Maine, transversely through it from Kittery 
point to its northeast angle, or 144 Mile Corner," is estimated to 
be no less tlian 360 miles. 

Note. — JIaclmoaska settlement is composed of ancient French Neutrals 
and others who endeavoured to escape from the English government of 
Nova-Scotia — being joined from time to time b}' their own coimtrymen. In 
A. D. 1820, it contained 1,114 souls. A British military post was formerly 
established at the Grand falls— 3 miles below where the line crosses the St. 
John : and the American military post, was first established at Houlton, in 
the summer of 1828. 



SECTION II. 

Face of the Country, Seacoast, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, and 

Soils. 

The face of the country through this extensive State exhibits 
Face of the the varieties of nature. Upon the Atlantic coast, it has several 
Country, ^qq^ bays ; a great number of harbors, promontories, and 
islands ; and several salt marshes. The northern interior em- 
braces the sources and tributaries of the river St. John ; and im- 
bosoms four other considerable rivers, which are borne through 
tlie territories of the State to the ocean. Skirting these waters 
and the streams that enlarge them, are innumerable vallies, swells, 
and ridges ; some hills and rugged heights ; and a few mountains. 
The country however is rather elevated than mountainous ; — free 
of miry bogs, barren heaths and sandy deserts ; and favored with 
a diffusion of waters convenient for all the purposes of life. 
But a knowledge of particulars can only be acquired by a 
. . , descriptive view of the shores, the waters, the islands, and the 

A view of i 

ihe^wMier highlands of the State, which are now to be considered. We 
shall begin on the western borders and proceed eastward, and in- 
tersperse collateral facts as they occur. The whole Seaboard 
may be divided into four parts, — 1st, The Western Coast, between 

drawn due west to the point where it unites with the line, claimed by the 
United States, "delineated on the map A. ; thence said line to the point 
at which, according- to said map, it coincides with that claimed by Great 
Britain ; [probably mile tree] and thence the line traced on the map by 
the two powers, to the northwesternmost source of Connecticut river." 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 21 

Piscataqiia and Portland; 2d, Casco Bay; 3d, The Middle a. fourfold 

' division of 

Coast, iVoni Cape Small Point to Penobscot ; and thence, 4th, ihc coasi. 
The Eastern Coast, to Passamaquoddy. There arc, it is said, 
305 Islands on the coast and in the hays of this State ; about 300 
of which are mentioned in the following pages ; the others arc 
very small, or mere rocks. 

THE WESTERN COAST. 

The Piscataqua* river in its whole length, forms a part of the Wesiem 
western boundary of Maine. Its head is a pond, tlie body '^''"""" 

Piscaiaqua 

of which is in Wakefield, on the New-Hampshire side, and the river. 

end ill Shapieigh. It is fed by two other ponds ; and the three 

are called Salmon Fall pond, the Northeast pond, and Lovell's 

pond. The river runs a S. S. E. course about 40 miles to the 

sea. From the ponds to Qiiampeagan Jails, near the mouth -im i.«iu. 

of Great-works river, at the head of the tide, the distance ^ , , „ 

' ' >alnion fall 

is 26 miles ; and that part of the river, being only a large mill ''*^•■• 
stream, is called Salmon Fall river, from the abundance of 
salmon formerly taken from its waters. It is said, fishermen 
anciently, when slaiuliiig on the rocks, could spear them in great 
numbers, though not one hiis been seen there for an age past. 
^Vithin the space of ten miles above Quampeagan are three 
waterfalls ; the upper are about die point where Berwick and 
Lebanon angle on the river, and are called tlie Stair falls. Four 
miles below arc the Gnat falls, where mills are worked with 
great profit and convenience. Not Air from these two falls, are 
the mouths of two inconsiderable streams. Little river and fFor- 
ccster^s river, both in Berwick. f 

Near tlie angle, (at the river,) between Old and South-Berwick, 
are Salmon falls, a mile and a half above Quampeagan, well 
covered with useful mills, and affording eligible places for machine- 
ry. Hereabouts are caught frost-fish and smelts in great plenty, 
and also some alewives. 

(Quampeagan falls are ripples or descents of a mile long, wash- 
ed by die tide neai-ly to their head ; and the river is navigable from 
the foot of diem, 14 miles to its mouUi. Against these, on 
the east side, empties the river Great-works or Chadbourn''s river, w.'i^ks livcr. 



* Piscataqua is of Indian origin, and means «' lijlit angles, 
f MS. Letter from Berwick. 



22 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

which issues from Bonnebeag pond, a mile long and half a mile 
wide, in the northeast part of old Berwick, 30 miles from its 
Faii'f'"^'* mouth. In this river are Doughty^s falls, 5 miles from the pond, 
and others still greater a mile above its mouth. Here [in South- 
Berwick] were the celebrated mills of ancient days, erected by 
one Ledgors, who is said to have had 18 saws moved by one 
wheel ; which, however, required too much head of water to work 
them with advantage. Here also Mr. Chadbourn, a first settler, 
purchased lands of the natives in 1 643, and formed a noted stand 
and frontier. 

At Quampeagan, so called by the natives, (because fish were 

Great land- taken here with nets,) is the great landing place, whence immense 
quantities of lumber have been rafted or shipped to market ; and 
where are now many mills of different kinds. 

From Quampeagan to the junction of Cocheco, Oyster, Exe- 
ter and New-Market rivers, on the New-Hampshire side, a run 

wam.eck of four miles, the river is called JVewichawannock, and is suf- 
ficiently large to bear vessels of an hundred tons burthen near to 
the falls. Thence to the sea, 8 or 9 miles, the course is from S. 

Piscataqua. to S. E. and the river itself has the name of Piscataqua, com- 
modious for navigation and too salt and too rapid to freeze. 

Where the river changes its name from Newichawannock to 

creek*"" Piscataqua, on the eastern side, is Sturgeon creek. Lower down 

i^prnce on the same side, is Spruce creek, which makes up into Kittery, 
northeasterly around the point, three miles or more ; and here, 
in water two or three fathoms deep, is the harbour. On the N. 
and E. side of the channel, in proceeding to the sea, are Rising 
Castle, FurnaVs or JYavy, Seavey^s, Bager^s, Trefethin's, and 
Clark''s Islands, all which are small except Seavey's, which lies 
opposite Spruce creek and may be 3-4ths of a mile across either 

Navy way ; and Furnal's, or Navy Island of 58 acres, which has been 
purchased by the United States, at the cost of ^'5,500, for a 
ship-yard, in which several war ships have been already built. 

Gnrrish's Southcastwardly of Kittery point are GerrisK's and Cutis* 

Islands. Islands,* which are separated from the main by a very small 
strait only boatable, and which two together may contain an area 
equal to a league square ; poor and uninhabited, belonging to the 
town of Kittery. West of the former and north of Great Island 
is the Pool. 

* " Brave boat harbour," is N. E. of these Islands, next to the main. 



6 Islands. 



Sect, ii.] of MAINE. 23 

The celebrated Isles of Shoals, which are often mentioned and The Isles of 

. . . shoals. 

partially described in the succeeding History, he nine miles south- 
erly from the mouth of Piscataqua harbour, and are seven in 
number, — three (besides Anderson's rock,) on the west and four 
on the east side of the line ; the former belonging to New- 
Hampshire and the latter to Maine. Here is a good naval 
road with moorings ; where ships sometimes take shelter in bad 
weather. Formerly the inhabitants were engaged in the cod- 
fishery to great advantage ; and on one of the Islands, saltworks 
have been erected, which yielded salt of a most excellent quality 
for curing fish. 

The most conspicuous of them is Star Island, which forms giar hiand. 
the town of Gosport, and is on the New-Hampshire side of the 
line. It is 3-4ths of a mile long from N. W. to S. E. and half 
a mile wide ; and has a meeting-house fronting the west, painted 
white, with 12 feet walls and a steeple in the middle, about 30 
feet in height. It may be seen 25 miles distant in almost any 
direction. It bears from the western Agamenticus south 1-2 east; 
— the buildings are on the north end of the Island. 

White Island* is a mass of rocks 3-4ths of a mile in length Whiie 
from N. W. to S. E. and is the southwesternmost one of the 
cluster. It is one mile and 3-4ths from Star Island meeting- 
house. In the tower of the lighthouse is a bell of 300lbs. tolled 
by machinery. 

The northernmost of all on the N. H. side is Londoner^ or i.nnfioner'* 
Lounging Island, which has rugged rocks projecting in every di- 
rection ; about half way between which and Star Island lies a 
rock, bare at low water. This Island is S-Sths of a mile in 
length, and one third of a mile from Star Island, and lies south- 
west of Hog Island. 

On the Maine side of the line are Duck Island, Hog Island, 
Smutty-nose Island, and Cedar Island. 

Duck Island, which is north of all the others, is an ill-shapen, j^j'J^^ 
low, rocky Island, the most dangerous one of the whole seven, 
as the rocks project on all sides, and from the N. W. part, a ledge 
runs off half a mile. It is 7-Sths of a mile in length from N. 
W. to S. E. and a league from Star Island meeting-house. 

Hog Island, at its east end, bears from the meeting-house N. Uog hiand. 



*Thc Lighthouse is 67 feet in height above iiigliwatcr mark, contiining 
15 patent lamps with reflectors, on a revolving triangle. 



24 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

N. E., 7-8ths of a mile distant, and is about one mile in length 
from E. to W. ; and 5-8ths of a mile across. It is much the 
largest one of the seven. 
Smutty-nose South of Hog Island is Smutty-nose or Hayleifs Island, which 

or Hay ley's . . . ** t* 

Island. has an artificial dock, constructed with great labour and expense 
by Mr. Hayley, for the accommodation of fishing vessels. It is 
a mile long from E. to W. and nearly half a mile wide. It has 
a windmill on its northerly part, and Hayley's cove at the west 
end, where 15 or 20 small vessels may he safely from all winds, 
and where the buildings are situated. The east end of this Isl- 
and bears E. N. E. 5-8ths of a mile distant from the meeting- 
house. 

Cedar Isl- Cedar Island, one third of a mile in length from E. to W., 

and. 

small in territory, is situate between Star and Smutty-nose Isl- 
ands ; its east end bears E. l-4th N. 3-8ths of a mile distant 
from the meeting-house. Between this and the latter Island, the 
channel is crooked, and a rock Hes off the S. E. end.* Some- 
times vessels passing between Casco bay and Boston, run within 
side of these Islands. f 

York river. Over land from Spruce creek to Agamenticus or York river, 
the distance is only four miles ; whereas it is nearly as many 
leagues around by water to the mouth of that river, where it 
forms a good harbour. The river itself receives no considera- 
ble supply from its short fresh water stream above the head of the 
tide, and therefore is indebted to the ocean for its existence. Its 
length of flood-tide is seven miles ; its harbour, which is narrow 
and crooked at its entrance, can receive vessels of 200 tons bur- 
then. | 

Cape Ned- Along the coast, four miles distant, a part of which is a 
most beautiful beach of white sand, empties Cape JVeddock 
river, which is a stream flowing from the foot of Mount Agamen- 
ticus. It receives its waters from the sea ; has a bar of sand at 
its mouth, and is so small of itself as to be fordable at half tide 

* MS. Let. Hon. M. Dennet. 

■j- It was on these Islands that the dunfcsh was cured in so celebrated a 
manner as to be known in Spain and other places in the Mediterranean. 
In 1745, a quintal of it would sell for a guinea, when other articles of food 
were low. The fish is caug-ht in the summer season, cured on the rocks 
by dfying- them slowly and very carefully without much salt. It was an 
art thought to be peculiar to the IsJe of Shoals, but is now known else- 
where. 

J Hon. D. Sewall. 



dock 



Sect, ii.] OF MAINE. 25 

It is never navif^able more than a mile from the ocean at high 
water. On tlie :>oiith\vest of the river, and at the upjier end of 
Long-sands-bay, is the jVubble^ which is notliing more than a Nubble. 
small hillock. 

This Nubble is the nearest main land to Boon Island,* which 
is l-4th of a mile in length and six or seven miles distant, in a 
S. E. direction. It is an Island of rocks, and one league east 
from it, is Boon Island If'dgc, very dangerous. It is so low and Boon Island, 
small an Island, that sometimes in gales and storms, the waters 
drive the resident family to the second story of the Lighthouse.f 

Between Cape Neddock and the river Mousom, there arc no 
Islands except a few which are mere appendages of the main; 
but here we find the extensive salt marshes of Wells, the river 
JVegunkety anciently Oguntiquit, the first boundary between York 
and Wells ; and a few miles east of it the harbour of Wells, tol- 

* Upon this Island is a dwellinjliouse and a Lig-lilhouse. It is 5 or 6 
leajiies S. E. from Ag^aiiicnlicus. 

jOn the 11th of Dec. 1710, tlie Nottinrrham Galley, of 120 tons burthen, 
with ten nriins and 14 men, under John Dcane, master, bound to Boston 
from London, was driven by a tremendous pale, accompanied with rain, 
hail and snow, upon Boon Island. It was in total darhuess wlicn their suf- 
ferings commenced there : — They being wet, cold, fatigued, and hungry — 
without shelter, light or food. In so dreadful a niglif, some soon died. The 
next day they could make no signal to bo noticed from the shore, and after 
a few days, two of them attempted to get to York on a raft, but they were 
drowned. Tiie best and only food of these forlorn sulferers, were shreds 
of a raw hide, a iew m'iscles and rockwecd. For several days they prayed 
frequently to God for relief, and treated each other with condolence and 
kindness. 

But through extreme famine, and distress, they thought upon the duty 
of preserving their lives, if possible, by eating some flesh of a wretched 
man whose body lay lifeless before their eyes. They deliberated, sighed, 
and cliose at last, this, as a less evil than death ; yet, having no fire, they 
were obliged to swallow it, loathsome as it was, raw. Their dispositions 
immediately underwent a total change; quarrels and profanity ensued; 
they viewed themselves forgotten of their Maker, and prayed to him no 
more. Such were these unhappy mariners, tbe most wretched objects of 
despair, when they were discovered and taken off, the 3d of January, 1711, 
emaciated to mere skeletons and unable to walk. 

In 1811, a Lighthouse was built there of stone, which cost the United 
States $2,59 J, and the next year the Island was ceded to that government, 
which pays tlie keeper $450 annually. Here he takes abundance of sea- 
fowl which furnishes him with food and feathers. 
Vol. I. S 



26 



THE WATERS AND COAST 



pNTRODUC. 



Mousom. 



Keiinebuuk 
liver. 



Cape 
Porpoise. 



Wood 
Island. 



Winter 
harbour. 



erable for small vessels, where they were oftentimes attacked in 
the Indian wars. 

The Mousom, formerly called Cape Porpoise river, or Magun- 
cook, which issues from ponds of that name in Shapleigh, 20 
miles remote, turns several mills, but has no good harbour by na- 
ture. It is only two miles and a half from that of Wells' :* 
And, because the entrances into the harbours of this section were 
obstructed by sand bars,f a corporation under a Legislative act, 
passed June 29, 1792, stopped the natural course of the Mou- 
som, by a dam across it ; and thence opened a canal through a 
salt boggy marsh and a narrow beach to a cove of the sea. It is 
through this canal, twenty feet wide, seven deep and two hun- 
dred rods in length, the waters of the river now find their outlet. 
Two miles further east, and still west of Cape Porpoise, at 
the mouth of Kennehunk river, which is smaller than the Mou- 
som, is a good harbour for small vessels ; the river is the divid- 
ing line between Kennebunk and Kennebunk-port, [lately Arun- 
del,] and turns mills which have cut great quantities of lumber. 
The village of Kennebunk is 3 or 4 miles from the sea, on the 
the river Mousom. 

Cape Porpoise, which is seven leagues N. E. of Cape Neddock, 
is a difficult and narrow harbour, though safe from winds ; the 
entrance into which, an hundred yards from the sea, is between 
five Islands, three on the right and two on the left. There a 
vessel which draws ten feet will be aground at low water and can 
hardly turn on the flood. At the mouth of Kennebunk river har- 
bour are two piers, one on the eastern and the other on the west- 
ern side of the channel. 

Three leagues N. E. of Cape Porpoise is Wood Island, at the 
mouth of Saco river, 70 or 80 rods from the main land. The 
entrance into the harbour is on both sides of the Island ; at the 
westward however, there is a long bar of l-4th of a mile and 
some rocks ; and on the eastern side the water over the bar is 
only fourteen feet in depth at high tides. The celebrated place, 
called Winter Harbour,^ which is above Wood Island, is six 



♦ Hon. N. Wells' description. 

f Depth of water on the bar, at low water, is only 2 or 3 feet : tides 8 or 
9 feet. The ^^ fishing Rocks'''' lie off this harbour. 
\ So called after an ancient inhabitant there by the name of Winter. 



Sect, ii.] OF MAl^E. 27 

miles below Saco bridge, and the head of the tide ; the place of 
anchonige is near Stage Island, on the Biddclbrd side. In the 
" Pool" vessels lie safely from all winds. This is without the bar, 
on the west side of Saco river, and is formed by a peninsula called 
Fletcher's neck and the main land. A short canal across would 
connect the Saco with the Pool. There is no channel between 
Wt)()(l and \cgro Islands. 

AVood Island, of 10 or 12 acres, is high even land, and cover- 
ed with trees. The United States erected a Lighthouse there L'ff''<houit. 
with a repeating light, in 1808, at the cost of $4,898 80, and has 
since paid the keeper of it $300 by the year; his is the only 
family on the Island. 

Saco River\ m its course is about 140 miles in length, rapid and Sqco river, 
clear ; and at the lower falls it is an hundred yards in width. Its 
head is in the White Mountains of New- Hampshire, at the western 
pass called the JS'otch ; and Ellis River, another branch of it, rises 
at the eastern pass. Near the former is a source of Connecticut 
river ; and within ten feet of tlie latter, Peabody river rises, 
which is a branch of the Androscoggin. 

The river Saco, after running in a southeasterly direction be- 
tween 30 and 40 miles and receiving several small tributaries, 
enters Maine across the dividing line of Conway and Frye- 
burg. It then meanders north 1 5 miles, quite to the north line of 
the latter town ; there, after receiving Cold river and the waters 
of a small pond at the north, and forming a bow, runs south and 
separates Denmark from Brownfield. The serpentine windings of 
this river, thirty-six miles in length, within the single town of 
Fryeburg, forming fine intervales and progressing only 4 miles, is 
a natural curiosity. But to avoid this circuity in part, a canal more 
than three miles long, was in 1817 — 18, cut across about four 
miles below the extreme curve of the bend, through Bear and 
Bog ponds, and this laid the bed of the bow above entirely dry. 
Three miles below the canal, between Fryeburg Academy and 
the Saco, is the celebrated Lovell's pond, half a league in 
length, though less than a mile in width at any place. It was 



f Anciently " Satcoco<j;cA-," " Sau-ahqualook,' Prin. An 55, 63. Smith's 
Hist. 214. " Sockhigunt4,'" Gorges, FoUurn's Uitt. of iicuo and Biddrfordy 
13, 14. 



28 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntrODUC. 

Saco rWer. through this, the natives used to pass in their excursions up and 
down the river. 

This beautiful section of country was anciently called Peg- 

Pegwacket. wacket*, One of the principal and most favourite lodgements of the 
Sokokis tribe ; and also the theatre of a desperate battle, with the 
Indians. Here are curious mounds of earth, one is 60 feet in 
circumference, artificially raised by them, ehher as receptacles of 
the dead or fortifications of the living ; of which no tradition nor 
conjecture can give any satisfactory account. f 

From this place the river runs sixty miles S. S. E. before it 

gives its waters to the Atlantic. In Brownfield it forms a fine 

real a s. j^tervale ; and at Hiram it exhibits the Great falls, where the 

water plunges down a ledge of ragged rocks seventy-two feet. 

Thirty-five miles from its mouth it is joined by the Great Ossipee 

Liitie Ossi- from the west, which issues out of Great Ossipee pond, in New- 
Hampshire, about eighteen miles distant, and separates Porter and 
Hiram from Parsonsfield and Cornish, and also forms the divid- 
ing line between the counties of York and Oxford. This river 
though a short one, contributes to the Saco a third part of its 
waters. 

Above the mouth of the Little Ossipee, at Limington, are the 

Sleep falls. Steep falls, o( twenty feet; and below, at Buxton, ten miles 

falls. above Saco falls, are Salmon falls, of thirty feet, giving views 

variously to engage the eye of the curious observer, and afford- 
ing conveniences to the ingenious machinist. J 

Little Ossipee springs from Balch pond, of 1000 acres, lying 
each side of the line dividing the two States; and after separating 
Newfield from Shapleigh, empties itself into the Saco, between 
Limington and Hollis. It is a fine mill stream, but is not one 
fourth so large as the Great Ossipee. § 

The Main river, having received many other streams, descends 

Saco falls, to the head of the lowcr or Saco fulls, where it is divided by 
Indian Island, containing 30 acres, and on each side tumbles 
over a precipice of rocks, forty-two feet, and mixes with the 
tide. From the east side of that Island, which is fertile and 
pleasant, the appearance of these falls is majestic. |[ 

*" Peckwalket," Sullivan 25 ; or Pegnawctt, — Gov. Lincoln. [Sandy Land.] 
I MS. Letter of A. J. Cook, Esq. and a plan, 
J MS. Letters of Ilufns Mclntire, Esq. and James Ayer, jr. Esq. 
J MS. Letter of John Neal, Esq. |] Rev. Jona. Cogswell, of Saco. 



SECT. II. J OF MAINE. 29 

The river is easily affected by freshets. In a common one the Saco river, 
water rises ten feet, and sonietiines it lias risen 25 feet ; when 
in many places it overflows its banks and makes great destruc- 
tion. This was particularly the case in the great flood of Octo- 
ber, 1775, when a large stream, called JVeu? river, broke out of ^vj^^^ ,.iy„_ 
the White iNIountains, and bore down every thmg in its way, till 
it found a discharge in Ellis' river. The Saco, being swelled 
enormously by this accession to its waters, swept away mills, 
bridges, domestic animals, and great quantities of lumber. The 
burst of New river from the mountains was a great phenomenon ; 
and as its water was of a reddish brown, or bloody colour, the 
people considered it an ill omen in those times of revolution.* 

After passing the ancient plantations of Kittery, York, Wells, 
and Saco, we come to Scarborough, which has never changed its Scarboro'. 
name since its first incorporation. It extends towards the east, 
six miles in width on the coast, to the mouth of Spurwink river, spurwink. 
which seems to cut off as it bounds the eastwardly corner of the 
town. This part is called Black point ; and between the mouth Black point, 
of Spurwink and those of Libby''s, JVonesuch, and Dunston riv- 
ers, which discharge their waters in confluence, is Proufs JVeck, P>"oui'» 

... . . "*=ck. 

projecting into the sea and forming a semi-globular mound, of 

some height, joined to the main land by a narrow isthmus. The 

Nonesuch enters the town from Saco on the south side, crossing Nonesuch. 

the line five miles from the sea, runs round Scottow's hill in the 

form of a circle, nearly to the east line of the town, and joins 

Dunston river near its mouth. Between this and Little river, on 

Saco line, in the southwest quarter of Scarborough, is Blue point „, 

and the highlands. Dunston and Nonesuch are both small ; the 

° . . . ' Dunston. 

latter has nine bridges over it ; the former, being westward of the 
other, is the shorter and larger of the two and forms a difficult 
harbour for vessels of a small size. Outside of the bar are Steteji 
and Bluff Islands, south of the neck.f 

* At the mouth of the Saco are Gooseberry Island, Stage Island and 
Monument, Basket Island, Ram and Eagle Islands. 

•j- JRfi'. Js'alhan Tilton's J\1S. description of Scarborougk and a plan. 
The early grant to Henry Josselyn was confirmed in 1684, to Joshua Scot- 
tow and others, by President Danforth. But Josselyn married the widow 
Commock, and thus acquired a large estate at Black point, which, eitiier 
by the above conGrniation or otherwise, became Scottow's. The " Jilillt- 
ken claim" arose from sio Indian purchase by tlie illgers. 



30 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

Falmouth. The ancient Falmouth'*' the next plantation to Scarborough, 
eastward, was originally eight miles wide, in a straight line on 
the seaboard of Casco bay, and embraced the present towns of 
Cape Elizabeth, Westbrook, Portland and what is now Falmouth. 
We propose to describe ^r^^ the Coast, and second the Bay. 
Upon the Coast, the town of Cape-Elizabeth, from the mouth 

Purpoo- Qf Spurvvink south, to the utmost extreme of Purpooduck north, 
is eight miles, as the shore runs, and from two to three miles 
wide. On its easterly side are two noted projections of land ; 

Cape Eliza- one is Cape Elizabeth, at the southwesterly limit and site of Cas- 
CO bay, four miles from the mouth of Spurwink river, on which 

head^"'^" ^^ ^ Pyramid of stone ; the other is Portland-head, two miles 
farther north, opposite to the entrance into the sound. On this 
head is Portland Lighthouse, in lat. 43^ 39 and long. 70" 3 , — 
an edifice of stone 72 feet in height, exclusive of the lantern, 
and was erected in 1790. Spurwinlc settlement was and is in 
the southerly angle of the town, towards that river. The Pur- 
pooduck^ vilkge is nearly opposite the compact part of Portland 
and is connected with that place by a bridge, 2,600 feet in 
length. 

Between Portland peninsula and the town of Cape Elizabeth 

Fore river, Jg Fore river, a salt water indent, stretching first southerly and 
then westerly, in all a league or more, and terminating in Stroud- 

Stroud- water river which descends through Westbrook. Spurwink 
settlement was prosecuted under Samuel Jordan, an Episcopal 
clergyman ; and that of Purpooduck by several brothers whose 
surname was Wallace. 

Richman's Richman''s Island is southwesterly of the headlands on Cape 
Elizabeth point, distant 2h miles ; and N. E. of Wood Island, 
three leagues. It is situated ^ mile from the main land by a 
strait fordable at low water. It is good land, about 3 miles in 
circumference and inhabited by two families. It has a harbour 

Watch for small vessels : though it has sunken rocks called Watch leds;e, 

iedgc. . . 

half a mile in extent, east from the northeast end of the Island. 
In early History this Island is frequently mentioned. 

On the north and east side of Portland, is a bay called Back 
ac cove. ^Q^,g^ which Stretches up westerly near to the head of Fore river, 

* Indian name, Tolam — J. De Liet, (printed 1633.) 

f The Indi.ms called tliis land and the coujitry west, '■^ ApistamH." 



Sect, n.] OF Maine. 31 

leaving an intervening isthmus, which joins the peninsula to the 
main land in Westbrook. At the mouth of the cove, is a very 
commodious and substantial toll-bridge about 120 rods in length. 

With the waters in the northerly margin of that cove, at its 
mouth, mix those of Presumpscot* river, which is navigable a sro'i'riv'ir. 
short distance from the sea. Its head is in Seba[ro lake, the s^'^sgo 
easterly edge of whicii is fifteen miles from the salt water in a 
straight line. The lake is about four leagues by three in com- 
pass, and receives a number of tributary streams ; the principal 
one being Crooked river, which rises in the north part of Albany, 
near a bend of the Androscoggin, and finds its mouth in Sebago 
pond after running southerly about 35 miles, and turning a num- 
ber of mills. Northwest of it is Long pond, between Bridgeton ^""ff P**"**- 
and Harrison, 9 miles in length. f 

About two miles northeast of the place where the Presump- 
scot receives its waters from Sebago lake, is Sebago pond, which poud.^* 
lies partly in Gray, though mostly in Windham. It was origin- 
ally in two parts, separated by a neck 25 feet in width, but con- 
nected by one Hardy, about 1 760, who lived on an Island in the 
northern one, to avoid carrying his boat from the one to the other ; 
the southern one before had no outlet. About the year 1 790, 
Col. Anderson cut a canal from the latter, half a mile long, south- 
westerly, to Pleasant river, a mill stream, through which he drew 
a small brook to aid in turning his mills. In the great freshet of 
1814, the water in the pond rising to an unusual height, burst 
away the bank of the pond, at the head of the canal, which was 
sand ; and with a tremendous torrent opened a channel 300 feet 
in width and 50 feet in depth, and swept away a house in which 
a family lived, also a mill and a bridge; and rushed into a thick 
and heavy growth of forest trees, tearing them up by the roots, 
and swelling Pleasant river, so that its waters did much damage 
before they were discharged into the Presumpscot. The latter 
is itself rapid, though not very large, and has high banks espe- 
cially towards its mouth. | 

RoyalVs, or fVestecusiego river, is about seven miles north- \v'p^,"ep** 
east of Presumpscot ; and between the two there are, along the '*'^" ''"'*'" 

* Or Spring-point. f MS. Letter of Z. Leacli, Esq. 

X A MS. Letter from J. Waterman, Esq., with a plan. Also 3 Ma»t. 
Hii. Coll. p. 469. 



32 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

coast, several shoal indents of water and salt marshes. It is a 
small river, and has a good harbour at its mouth, about which 
the ancient settlements of North-Yarmouth were commenced 
which suffered so exceedingly in the early Indian wars. The 
river rises in New-Gloucester, and after running fifteen miles, 
descends a fall two miles from the sea, where it meets the tide 
at the head of navigation. 

The original North-Yarmouth lay about nine or ten miles long 

North-Yar- from the easterly line of Falmouth, in direct course, on the mar- 
gin of the salt water ; extended back two leagues and a half 
from the mouth of Royall's river and from Magocook hay, which 

Magocook terminates northeast in Maquoil* ; and embraced, besides the 

present town of that name, the towns of Freeport, southeast, and 

Pownal in the rear. In Freeport are several small creeks, where 

wood-coasters can load. In the western section of the town is a 

small stream called llarraseeket river, where the first settlements 

HarrHsee- ^ygj.g established : and in the centre are Porter'' s and Mast land- 
kei river. ' 

ings, two or three miles from the sea, at which vessels of 400 
tons have been built. f 

It was between the head-waters of Maquoit and Brunswick, 
or Pejepscot falls, where the Indians passed over land three or 
four miles only, in their travels across the country. 

Between Magocook bay terminating at Maquoit, and the pen- 
insula Merryconeag [in Harpswell] is Middle Bay, which bor- 
nea'^i^'^"" ders on that town east, and northwest, on a tongue of land 
Middiebay called '■'■ Marc-poiiit,'''' which is the south extremity of Brunswick, 
ar -pom . ^^^ which separates the waters of the two bays. J 

T^h^diX peninsula is nine miles in length and its average width 

one mile, and joins Brunswick on the north by an isthmus " a 

Sebascode- very fcw rods wide." Eastward of it is the Island Sebascodegan, 

which lies north of Quaheag bay, and which is separated from 

the main land on the east by JVew Meadows bay,'^ and river ; 

* D. Neal says, A. D. 1700, " Maquoit is a small villaje." In " 1662 
Boies and others built a fortification at Musequoite." Kennebcck Claims 
p. IS. 

f Rev. R. Nason. 

I From this place may be seen Portland Observatorj'. 

5 Quaheag' and New Meadows bays, form Broad sound, between Harps- 
well and ('npc Small-point. 



gan 
Quaheag 



Sect. n.J of Maine. 33 

and these latter urge their waters up within one mile of the An- 
droscoggin. On this Ishnd are 70 houses. Originally, the 
town of Harpswell was considered a part of North-Yarmouth ; ,, 

' ■ Harpswell. 

tliough the title to the lands came through the Plymouth com- 
pany.* 

J\'eiv Meadoivs bay and river, form an arm of the sea, making ff..^ n,^.,^. 
up north from iSW7/-/?oi/i< and east of Sebascodegan, in width "'"''"'*'"• 
from one to two miles, and in length 15 miles, within one mile 
(as above mentioned,) of the Androscoggin waters ; its head has 
been called Stevens^ rirer.t The harbour is formed by a cove, 
two miles north of Bare Island, land-locked on all sides and suf- B<trelsinnd. 
ficiently capacious to hold forty sail of vessels. The cove is be- 
tween the rocks called the Brown Cow and fVhite Bull. This 
river bears N. E. 8 leagues distant from the pyramid on Cape 
Elizabeth. 

Cape Small-point, two leagues southeastwardly of New Mead- capeSmaii- 
ows river, at its mouth, has high ground and a rocky shore and ''"'" ' 
is inhabited. Above the point on the northwest, there is a small 
harbour, and below the southwest extreme of the point is LoveWs 
(Glover^s) rock,'^ which is one league west by north from Se- 
giiin Lighthouse. 



CASCO BAY. 

Between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small-point, which are nine 
leagues asunder, are the waters of the spacious and celebrated 
Casco bay ;^ of which the northern shore forms the hypotenuse Casco bay. 



*MS. Letter of Rev. Samuel Eaton, 

t Stevens' River is 40 rods wide where the turnpike bridg-e crosses it, 
5 1-2 miles from the college, and 2 and 1-2 from Bath-villag-e. From Die 
bridge to its head is about 1 and 1-2 mile, and from its head to IMerry- 
mceting bay is only one mile— through which a canal has been cut 30 feot 
wide, — so deep as to float rafts about highwater. — The old road passed bv 
the head of tiie river to Batli. Stevens lived on the north side of the 
present canal, and Purchase on the south side. 

I One mile \V. N. W. from Glover's rock is Smail-poinl ledge. 

{ The ancient" Acocisco."— The Compiler is indebted to the courtesy of 
L. Moody, Esq. Portland, for the information in the account given of this 
bay and its Islands. Mr. M'g Chart of the bay is very perfect. 



34 



Sounds. 
Portland, 

Hussej''s, 

Luckift's, 

Rroafl. «nd 
Harpswell. 



Portland 
harbour. 



Norll\i*asl 
harbour. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

and the eastern shore the perpendicular of an acute angle at the 
head of Stevens' river. The principal entrances into this bay are 
through ^t'c noted sounds, viz. 1. Portland sound on the western 
side between the main and Bang's Island, leading to Portland 
harbour ; 2. Hussey^s sound, eastwardly 3 or 4 leagues distant, 
between Peak's Island and Long Island ; 3. Luckse's sound, 
southwesterly of Great Gebeag ; 4. Broad sound, easterly of the 
latter Island and of Crotch and Jewel's Island, and southerly of 
Westecustego river ; and 5. Harpswell sound, between Merry- 
coneag peninsula and Baily's Island. 

Portland harbour is one of the best on the American coast. 
The usual entrances into it are through either Portland or Hussey's 
sounds ; where is good anchorage, on an oozy bottom in water 
from 1 to 6 fathom deep, land-locked on all sides, having the 
peninsula and the mouth of Fore river westward. Bang's Island 
southward. Great and Little Hog Islands southeastward ; Mackay's 
Island and the main northward ; and Clapboard Island northeast- 
ward. The harbour is seldom frozen over, and the Ledge west- 
ward of Little Hog Island, is the only annoyance of any kind to 
vessels. 

Northeast of the preceding harbour, and contiguous, is another 
still superiour, between the main and Great Gebeag, being more 
than two leagues in length N. E. and S. W. and varying in 
breadth from one to three miles. This harbour with a soft bottom 
and water from 5 to 15 fathoms deep, is sufficiently spacious to 
hold 1,000 ships of the largest class; which with a fair wind 
could go to sea through Hussey's sound in a single hour. Along 
the shores of Falmouth and North -Yarmouth, between them and 
Clapboard and Sturtevant's Island, however, the water for a short 
time in some winters is frozen over. 

This bay is crouded with Islands, of different sizes, shapes and 
appearances ; and the fact of their being twice or three times as 
long as wide, and generally stretching northeast and southwest, 
inspires the thought, that they might be all at some period connect- 
ed, and then rent asunder by an earthquake or some other tre- 
mendous shock of nature from the southwest. The whole 
number seen above the water at the height of common tides is about 
110, exhibiting all the varieties of black ledges, ragged rocks, 
verdant elevations, and well cultivated fields. 



SecT. n.] OF MAINE. 35 

A short description of the Islands apparent above the tide- '"airo hay. 
waters, follows — bcsiinninc; on the western side of the bay, with '^'a'"is. 
the Islands nearest Portland Ijii^lithonse. 

Bang's Island, of 250 acres,* exhibits on the eastern side a Bangs', 
high bluff, called " White-head," and is environed by a rocky 
shore. It is more than a mile N. E. of Portland Light, bears a 
few trees, yields good pasture, and is inhabited by one family. 

Southeast of this, one mile, is Ram Island, uninhabited, con- Raml.iand. 
taining 10 acres of low land, with a rocky, dangerous shore ; upon 
which is a pond and pasturage. 

House Island, of 40 acres, is half a mile long, N. W. of Bang's unnse 
Island and a near neighbour. On its westerly end, which is east ^ *"' 
of fort Preble on the main,f distant more than half a mile, '\sfort 
Scammell, erected A. D. 1 807 — 8, and so named in honour of a J,"!!.^*^^""" 
brave Colonel in the American Revolution. Here is a battery, a 
blockhouse and a small body of United States troops. The west- 
erly half is owned by the National Government, and the other is 
inhabited bv one family. — Fort Preble, built at the same time 

•' . . . . . FortPrel.le 

with the preceding, is garrisoned by 50 soldiers. It is a strong 
fortification ; the walls, which are constructed of stone laid in 
lime-mortar, are 12 feet in height, of a curving form, and enclose 
the barracks ; but the hospital and habitations for the officers are 
without the fort. 

One league eastwardly of Portland is Peake's Island, of 500 penke's 
acres and good soil. Its length is half a league by one mile in '''""'^• 
width ; and has on the S. E. side a rocky shore. It is inhabited 
by 10 or 12 families who are owners of the Island in severalty. 

Northwestwardly and near, are Great and Little Ilosr Islands J ^;'"]^°e 
containing together 300 acres, and separated by a bar covered 
only at highwater. They form the easterly side of Portland 
harbour. Upon the former, which is good land, are two houses 
and a fine growth of wood ; the northeasterly shore is rocky, and 
the south and west sides sandy. The other is sandy pasture land, 
witliout inhabitants. 

* The acres mentioned, arc generally by estimation, in most of the 
Islands. 

f In the town of Cape Elizabeth, across the channel and west from House 
Island, is fort Preble. 



36 

Casco bay. 

Maekay's 
island. 



Two Broth 
ers. 



Cow Island. 



Pumpkin 
Island. 

Crow 
Island. 



I^ong 
Island. 



Ovftrset and 

Marsh 

Lildnds. 



3 Green 
Islands. 



Jewel's 
Island. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

Mackay^s Island, situate 1-2 a mile from a point of that name* 
east of Presumpscot river-mouth, and N. E. of Portland Obser- 
vatory, 2 miles, containing 70 acres, exhibits a handsome shape, 
an inviting sandy shore, one dwellinghouse and a beautiful surface. 

Northeast, near Falmouth shore, are " the Brothers,''^ which 
are two small uninhabited Islands, connected by a bar, and are of 
little value. 

Near the N. E. part of Great Hog Island is Cow Island, which 
contains 25 acres of good land, secured by a rocky shore, and 
adorned with a handsome dwellinghouse and verdant summer 
fields, without any trees. South, more than one mile and close to 
the N. E. end of Peak's Island, is a very small one of 2 acres, 
uninhabited, called Pumpkin Island, covered with a thick spruce 
growth, and bounded by a bold rocky shore. Crow Island is also 
very small, directly south of Cow Island, at the mouth of Diamond 
Cove, an indent on the N. E. side of Great Hog Island, — a place 
of great resort by the people of Portland in summer for pastime 
and recreation. 

But one of the most beautiful in these waters is Lo7ig Island, 
separated from Peak's Island, on the east, by Huzzy's sound. It 
is about 2 and 1-2 miles long by 3-4ths of a mile mean width, 
and contains 600 acres, inhabited by 10 or 12 famihes of well 
informed people. Though the western end is somewhat rocky, 
the soil is loamy and productive, adorned with scattering trees. 

Very near the southwestern extremities of Long Island are 
Overset and Marsh Islands ; the former of which, so named from 
its form, contains 6 or 8 acres, and is uninhabited, rocky and full 
of spruces. The other is also small, low, rocky and barren, 
connected to Long Island by a bar. 

A league and a half eastward of Portland Light, are the three 
Green Islands, one of which is not far from Jewel's Island. Each 
is small, about twenty feet in height, and without inhabitants. 

JeweVs Island, of 163 acres, is more than a mile in length, the 
northerly moiety of which is very narrow ; and on the northeast 
part is a curious and very excellent harbour. The soil is good, and 
the face of this beautiful Island is cheered, by the appearance of 
one dwellinghouse well filled with inhabitants. 



*Mackaifs point — is where Mr. Mack worth dwelt; and Massachu- 
setts, 1652 — 3 claimed 4 or 5 miles farther north. 



Sect, ii.] of maine. 37 

Still lar2;er is Crotch Island, at the north, which contains 350 Casco bay. 

, ... . . f rolfh 

acres of good land, and is inhabited by G or 7 families. Its shape Maud, 
is much like a capital T ; its shores arc rocky, thongh on the 
easterly side is a good harbour. — Tlic xvcsterhj half of this Island 
and all the others in this bay, prcviouslij mentioned, belong to 
Portland. 

About half way between the preceding one and the south end 
of great Gebeag is Hope Island, which exhibits good land, two uopc isi. 
houses, and a bold ledgy shore ; — northeast of which is Sand l"[^^°^ ^ 
Island, of 2 or 3 acres, low and barren. Band island. 

Great and Little Gebcas* are very fiunous Islands. The for- 

. . (Jreal and 

nier, containing 1,800 acres, is the largest Island in Casco bay, if Mule Ge- 
we except, perhaps, Sebascodegan. It is situated about six miles 
from the main land, possesses a good soil, and supports 325 in- 
habitants, distributed into 43 families. It is a high Island, 4 
miles long by 3-4ths of a mile in mean breadth ; and more than 
half of it is yet covered with a soft wood growth. It has two 
harbours, viz., in its northeast and southwest parts. The Island- 
ers are fishers or farmers ; they have a good school-house ; and 
are a part of North-Yarmoutli.f An half mile soutJuvest is Little 
Gebeag, of 60 acres, and a good soil, which being well cultivated 
supports one family. This Island is only rocky on the southwest 
side, the residue is sandy ; and it is connected widi Great Gebeag 
by a sand bar. It belongs lo Portland. 

Clapboard Island, lying 2 miles N. W. of Little Gebeag, and 1 
mile from the shore of Falmouth, is a mile long and only a few hiand. 
rods wide, low, though of pretty good soil, bearing a growth ot 
trees. J It contains 65 acres, and is uninhabited. 

Sturtevant's Island, of SO acres, lying still farther N. N. E. S'">-i«;vaot's 

' ' .- D Island. 

is uninhabited and rough ; and between these two Islands are 
dangerous ledges. Not far distant is Basket Island, of 15 acres, P""'';;' 

■^3 ' ' Is and. 

full of spruces and firs, in a tolerably good soil. 

Between Great Gebeag and the main, are Cousin^s and Little ["""*'"'* 
Johis Islands. The former, which is the nearer of the two to ^'^^^ ^'^'■"• 



* Anciently " Chebeaguc." f They now have a meeting-house. 

J About A. D, IG 32— 4, Massachusetts extcndod he r Charter to this Island. 



B. Sound. 



38 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntroDUC. 

CascoJ.ay. the land, is two miles long and ^ a mile wide. It is an high Isl- 
and, and exhibits to good advantage 6 or 8 dwellinghouses, a 

i.iiiie John's good soil, a sandy shore, and some flats. Little John has 200 
acres of good land, and two or three houses ; its S. E. shore is 
rocky, and the residue a mere mud bank ; extending at low 
water even to Cousin's Island. 

„ , . .. Great and Little Mo^es^* Islands lie near the mouth of Har- 

«••»• raseeket river. The former contains 100 acres of good soil, 

and the latter 20 ; and from both a mud bank extends to the 
main shore. 

On the westerly side of Broad sound, and south of the north- 
ern extremity of Great Gebeag, are these several Islands to be 
seen as we proceed to the mouth of the sound, at the head of 
which are, 1, Two Green Islands, very small and poor, cover- 

isUnd. ed with spruces, near Great Moges : — 2, The Goose JVest, a bar- 

Ooose ^esl. ^^^^ dangerous ledge, small and without a tree, lying 3-4ths of a 
mile south of Great Gebeag; — 3, Crow Island,^ a mile west of 

T'^""', the Goose Nest, small and barren ; — and 4 and 5, south of Goose 

Island. ' 

Nest, 1-2 a mile, is Lower Bansrs^ Island, of 60 acres, 3-4ths of 

ibiaiid. a mile long from N. E. ta S. W., very narrow, with a poor soil, 

. and rus:e;ed shore : having Stockman^s Island northeast, contain- 

Stockman's tot) ' o _ 

Island. ing 20 acres, as rock.y and sterile as the others. 6, South of 
Lower Banss' Island is Stave Island, of 50 acres, surrounded by 

Sl«ve '^ .... . . 

Island. rocks and reefs. Its soil is indifferent, yet it contributes support 
to one family. — Between Loioer Bangs'* Island and Stave Island 
is the usual route from Portland to Kennebec. 7, Next is Min^ 

Ministerial istcrittl Island, containing 1 1 acres, half a mile long, low, nar- 
row, and unproductive, though cheered by one house. Its shore 
is ledgy and forbidding, and between it and Stave Island are dan- 
gerous rocks. 8, Bates* Island, close aboard, and connected by 

Island. a bar to Ministerial Island, has 15 acres of low, indifferent land, 
and a dangerous projection of rocks from its southern extremity.. 

Broken It is distinguished by a house and large barn upon it. 9, Brown 

"*■ Cow, or Broken Cave, one mile S. of Bates' Island, and 1 mile 

and l-4th N. E. of Jewel's Island, is formed of sunken rocks 

and brown backs crested in summer by a little herbage. 10, 

Ejig^ie Northeast, one mile, is Eagle Island, of 5 acres, lying at the 

* Formerly " Hosiers." 

I Between Crow Island and jicat Gebeag' is a small yood harbour. 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. ' 39 

mouth of Broad sound ; it is a high Island, full of tall spruces, ^-"f" ''»y- 
surrounded by dangerous rocks, and uninhabited. These ten 
Islands do not probably contain in aggregate more than 1 70 acres. 
Between Broad sound and the northwesterly side, and south 
end of IMerryconeag-peninsula, [Harpswell,] are twenty-jive Isl- 
ands, of which we will take a passing view in proceeding north- 
eastwardly from Drunkers' Ledge, Mark Island Ledge and l-'■f^.e«'s. 
Whale Rock. Little Mark Island, one mile S. E. of Eagle uiaud. 
Island, of only 6 or 8 acres, is remarkable for the stone monu- 
ment or pyramid erected there by the United States, which is 1 8 
feet square at its base and 50 feet in height. This is at the en- 
trance of Harpswell sound. North is JF/rt5^e/rs Island, o( 120l'r''r"'* 

' ' Island. 

acres, a mile long, and narrow, bearing 4 or 5 families, who live 

well by fishing and cultivating a good soil. At the N. E. end is 

a small harbour ; the rest of the shore is rocky. Haddock-rock, 

is close aboard west ; and Great Mark Island is on the S. E. uiT,?(j *'"^'' 

side of Haskell's Island, of G or 8 acres, admitting only a boat 

passage between them. It is low, ledgy and unproductive. 

Ujyper Flagg Island, having 1 5 acres of good land, one house isilmi. "^'^ 
and a rocky shore ; Horse Island, of 6 acres, a mere sheep-pas- \S1^X 
lure ; and Little Birch Island, of 10 acres ; all he not far from isialrd**"^*^^'' 
each other at the south end of Harpswell-peninsula, neither of 
which is inhabited. 

Great m\d Little Mliale Boat Islands lie two miles east of ^ *''■'"'« 

1 1 I r r-i i-i 1 rr,, ^ Whale Boat 

tlie northeast end oi (jreat Gebeag. The former, a mile and i>i.'"ds. 
1-2 long and a few rods wide, contains 100 acres and exhibits a 
bold rocky shore ; northwest of which, 1-2 mile, is the latter, of 
15 acres, with a dangerous shore. 

Northwest of these is French'' s Island, rocky and ragged, con- '^'■rnrh'* 
taining 30 acres, and having at its N. E. end an extensive reef "' 
of rocks. Still further north, near Flying-point, 1 mile and |^.1m!i'.^' 
1-2 east of the mouth of Harraseeket river, is Bibber's Island ',''!'^"7'* 

Island. 

of 80 acres. The waters are met by rocks on the southerly side 
of it ; but the margin of the residue is a mere mud-bank to the 
main shore. It has for its near eastern neighbours the two little 
Silver Islands of 6 acres each, environed by ooze. Niands, 

From Flying-point to Mare-point m Brunswick, the distance M^r.-poim. 
is 2 and l-4th miles, between which there are two small Islands, ''"'"' '*« 

^ , . J , , ^ _ , Islands. 

one ot 1 5 and the other ot 6 acres, whose names are unknown. 



40 

Casco bay 
4 (foose 
Inlands. 



Shelter 
Island. 



Birch 
Island. 
5 others. 



Rally's 
Island. 



Jaquish 
Island. 
Turnip 
Island. 



Orr's Island 



Sehascodc' 
gan. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

The /our Goose Islands lie within a league S. W. of Mare- 
polnt, one contains 75, another 60, and the third and fourth 10 
acres each, and all of them are surrounded by sand banks. 

Midway of the entrance into Middle bay is Shelter Island, 
which is equidistant from the Goose Islands and Harpswell neck, 
containing 6 acres. 

Birch Island, still further northeast and opposite to Mare-point, 
contains 1 50 acres of excellent land ; northeast of which are 5 
others, towards the head of Middle bay, the largest contains 40 
acres, and the three others from 3 to 6 acres each. 

On the easterly side of Harpswell-peninsula are several large 
Islands of very irregular and various shapes. 

We begin with Baily^s Island, a mile from the S. E. extrem- 
ity of the peninsula; which is 2 miles and 1-2 long and 1-2 mile 
wide. It has a good harbour, called Mackerel cove, on the west- 
erly side, near the south end. The face of the Island is fair and 
adorned by some trees ; though the soil is not of the first 
quality and the shore is rocky. There are upon it ten dwelling- 
houses. 

Only a few rods south is Jaquish Island, full of trees, embrac- 
ing 12 acres of poor land, surrounded with rocks and uninhab- 
ited. Turyiip Island is very small and very near. 

Orr^s Island, or Little Sebascodegan, separated from Daily's 
Island by a narrow strait, stretches up N. E. 3 miles and 1-2, 
parallel with the peninsula, within a few rods of Sebascodegan, 
with which it is connected by a commodious bridge, 100 feet 
long. Upon this Island, which has a tolerably good soil, thirty 
families are settled. The eastern end is full of trees ; the S. E. 
a rocky, and N. W. a sandy ascent from the water ; and this Isl- 
and makes the S. E. side of Harpswell harbour. 

Of all the Islands in Casco bay, Great Sebascodegan,* is 
the largest and most irregular, its shape being a curiosity. It 
forms the west bank or shores of New Meadows river, and more 
than a mile it is separated from the peninsula by a narrow strait 
of a few rods in width. Though the length of this Island is only 
6 and 1-2 miles, and 3 miles, mean width; yet such is its irreg- 
ularity, that the circuit of it at the water's edge, exceeds 50 
miles. The northern end is within 7 rods of the main land in 



* Spelt on Mr. Moody's Chart, " Jebaskadig-g^in." 



Sect, ii.] of .matnt. 41 

Brunswick ; and here a commodious brids^e is erected. This Casco bay. 
Island, which h;is a good soil and 450 inhabitants, is a principal 
constituent of the town of Harpswell, 

Between Baily's and Orr's Islands on the west and Phipsburg 
on the east, are several small Islands southerly of Sebascodegan. 
These are, 1. Pond Island o^ 10 acres, 3-4ths of a mile S. E. pond Island, 
of Baily's Island ; northerly and southerly of which are extensive 
ledges ; — 2. Ram Island, 1 mile N. E. small, rocky and barren ; J^^^.y^J^'*"*^" 
— 3. Cedar Island, east, a mere reef of rocks ; — 4. and 5. two '-';;,"'^- 

2 r.lm 

Elm Islands, farther N. E. little and poor : — 6. Ras;ircd Island M-'ikIs. 

, *" Kiiirjjcd 

of 50 acres and poor soil, is high and full of trees, has a ragged island, 
shore and is without inhabitants. Westward of it are dangerous 
ledges: — 7. White Dull ; — 8. Bold Dick and Brown Cow ^'tQ \io\T\)\^' 
south;— 0. Little Bull, east ;— 10. the Sisters,!^. E. and 1 1 . I;;;^!}^' 
Snake Island, are north of Rassied Island, and all of the latter ■^'*'7^' 
are small indeed. The White Bull is 80 yards in diameter and '='''*"<^»' 
12 feet above water. East of the last, 1 and 1-4 miles, is the 
noted Mark Island, of G or 8 acres, high, round and full of trees. 
Southerly of which arc dangerous ledges. Between ]\Iark Island 
and die White Bull is the usual passage into New Meadows river. 

Near the Phipsburg shore are the Gooseberry, two Wood, Goovherry 
Burnt-Coat, Horse, Malaga and Bear Islands, neither of which 2 \v..od 
is large, though some of them are of considerable extent : viz. 
the first is low and rocky, of 2 or 3 acres, having at its south end 
rugged, projecting rocks. The Wood Islands at the entrance of 
Small-point harbour, l-4th of a mile from the main, are connect- 
ed by a rocky bar, on either side of which vessels may pass : 
both may contain 40 acres. Burnt-Coat, of 7 acres, is rocky nnrmCoai, 
and barren. Horse Island, of 30 acres, is connected to the main \l"^^^'^ 
shore by a sand bar and flats, and is full of trees. Malaga has .Malaga 

, > • 1 1 • 1 1 Islanil. 

also many trees and is rocky; embracing about 10 acres, and 
lying between the main land and Bear Island. This last is at Bear Island . 
the entrance of New INIeadows river, 3-4ths of a mile long, and 
contains 50 acres. It is full of trees and exhibits a few houses. 
N. W. on the shore of the Sebascodegan, 3-4ths of a mile dis- 
tant, is Condi/ s well-known harbour. Conriy'i 

harbour. 

At the entrance of Qiiaheag [Cohawk] bay, in t'lc mou'h of 
Sebascodegan, is Yarmouth Island, which, though irregular, is X'"™"**'" 

° ' ' o o > Island. 

about 3-4ths of a mile in diameter. Ii has one resident family 
Vot. I. 4 



42 



THE WATERS AND COAST 



[Introduc. 



Casco bay. and a good soil, and is favoured with a safe harbour. Farther 
Pole Island, north is Poh Island, of 8 acres, with a rocky shore. It is cov- 
ered with spruces ; and though uninhabited, it is a beautiful Island. 
12 Islands -^.bove this, in the bosom of the bay, are a dozen small poor 
Islands, whose names are unknown. But we may mention four 
little Islands, S. E. of Yarmouth Island, viz. Jenney^s, Rogue^s 
and Flagg Islands, and Long Ledge, all of which are ledgy.* 



Middle 

Coast. 

Heron 

Island. 

Pond 

Island. 

Wood 

Island. 

(Sailer 

Island. 

Stale 

Islandi 

2 Forts. 



Seguin 
Island. 



Sarada- 
hock. 



THE MIDDLE COAST. 

Between Cape Small-point and Seguin, which are four miles 
apart, are Heron Island and Jacknife Ledge : and north of Se- 
guin, near two miles, is Pond Island, on which there is a Light- 
house. Pond Island, above the mouth of the Sagadahock, has 
Wood Island west, Salter Island east. Stage Island 1-2 mile 
N. E., and the Svgar Loaves north ; each of which is small. 
Above Pond Island, on the western shore, are two Forts; one a 
mile and l-4th, and the other 2 miles distant. 

Seguin Island,-\ situate E. N. E. from Cape-Elizabeth, dis- 
tant 25 miles, lies at the mouth of Sagadahock river, about two 
miles from the southeast corner of Phipsburg and 3-4ths of a 
mile further from the United States' fortification. The Island is 
said to contain, by admeasurement to low water mark, 42 acres, 
though estimated much more. On the 19th of Feb. 1794, the 
jurisdiction of this Island and ten acres of its territory was ceded 
to the United States, and the next year the National Government 
erected a Lighthouse at the expense of ^'6,300, with a lan- 
tern 200 feet above the level of the sea, and in 1797 became the 
owner of the whole Island. The Lighthouse was rebuilt in 1819, 
at the additional charge of ^'2,248 ; and the United States have 
given $300 annually to the keeper, besides the fruits of his toil 
upon the land of the Island. 

Sagadahock loses its name twenty miles from its mouth, at the 
Chops, where its constituents, the Androscoggin\ and Kennebec 

* The survey and bearings of these Islands are retained in the anciojit 
records of North-Yarmoutlj, but unfortunately more than half of them haye 
since changed their names. — Gen. Russell. — There are Green Islands, not 
far from the southwesterly entrance into Portland harbour; and still others 
northeast of Matinicus, 



I Anciently " Salquin.'"' 



I Anciently " Aumoughcawgen.'"' 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 43 

rivers in their junction, form Merry-Meeting hay, and arc now to 
be considered. 

The Androscoggin rises in tlie northwest section of the State, Aii.iroscag- 
only about an hundred miles from the Chops, in direct course, 
though it actually runs, in its flexuous meanders, more than 160 
miles. 

The rise of its eastern and (considered its) principal branch is 
in the vicinity of Sunday mountain, about ten miles east of the 
dividing line between Maine and New-Hampshire, and on the 
south margin of the highlands, which form the boundary between 
this State and Canada. This source of the Androscoggin has 
for its immediate neighbours a head-pond of Dead river, which 
empties into the Kennebec, and the southernmost spring of a 
stream, which runs northerly and contributes its waters to the 
Chaudiere. This branch of the Androscoggin runs about 25 
miles south and discharges its waters into lake JMooseetocmagun- 
tick, a most singular body of water, connected with Umbagog 
lake, by a strait ; and it empties all its waters into the latter, 
which lies on both sides of the western boundary line of Maine. 
On the western side of it, in New-Hampshire, issues the Andros- 
coggin, 40 miles south from the upper end of the line which di- 
vides that State from Maine. 

Three miles westward of the outlet, the main river receives the 
Magalloivay, which is 12 rods in width at its mouth. This riv- ^'^f^^*""*'* 
er's head is about as far north as that of the Androscoggin, runs 
a southerly course in JNlaine, more tlian 30 miles, and is distant 
from three to five miles from the line, which it crosses 120 miles 
north of the Piscataqua mouth. 

The Androscoggin, shortly after it receives the waters of Ma- 
galloway river, and another river from the northwest, runs south- 
erly in New-Hampshire 25 miles, almost parallel with the line, 
and five or six miles from it ; and then turning, crosses it, and 
runs the remainder of its course in Maine. In reentering the 
State it runs dirough the touTi of Gilead, and forms a fine inter- 
vale on both sides, overlooked by rugged lands on the north, and 
is fed in that town by Wild river.* The main river runs four- Wild river, 
teen miles in the next town, BeUicl, forming an elbow in its- west- 
ern quarter, and flowing northerly in a gentle glide, towards Ncw- 

* MS. Letter of i. Burbank, Esq. 



44 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

The An- rv : then eastwardly, over a smooth bottom of rounded pebbles, 

droicoggin. ^ . . '' . . 

embosoming in the town a number of fertile and delightful Isl- 
ands of various extent, the largest of which contains 1 00 acres. 
The alluvion skirting the banks of the Androscoggin, from ten to 
an hundred rods in width, is highly productive and beautiful land ; 
rising in many places by regular banks, one above another, and 
forming two or more bottoms. Of these, the highest is about 25 
feet perpendicular above low water ; and they are all evidently 
formed by the efflux of the river — changing its bed and banks ; 
so that the people feel safe in building on those more elevated 
bottoms, some of which were not covered in the time of the 
great freshet, October 22, 1785, when the water rose twenty-five 
feet. 

Along northward of the river, three or four miles distant from 
it, and nearly parallel with its banks in many places, are the 
" nucleus of the mountains" which, rising in ridges, stretch along 
from the west line of the State towards the falls, just above the 
northernmost bend of the river in the east line of Rumford, and 
shelter, in some measure, these extensive intervales from the 
northwest winds. In these parts it is to be remarked, that the 
hills rise with a gradual ascent from the northwest to their summits, 
and then fall off abruptly on their southeast sides, and frequently 
into deep precipices. So inviting is this section of country, that 
the Northern natives resolved to hold it ; and therefore committed 
depredations on the scattered settlers thereabouts in the last years 
of the Revolutionary war.* 

After the river receives several small streams and a consider- 
able one through the mountains from East-Andover, it rushes down 

Great falls, the Great falls [of Pennacook] at Rumford, 50 feet perpendicular 
and 300 feet within a mile. 

From these falls the river runs in a southerly direction through 
Dixfield into Jay, where it forms various windings ; and leaving the 
town in a southern course, passes through Livermore, between 
Turner on the west, and Leeds and Green on the east, and de- 

Lpwiston scends Leiviston falls, 60 miles below the Great falls. In Turner 

falls. 

Twenty it rcceives Twenty mile river, which rises principally in Sumner 
and Hartford, and runs through Buckfield and Turner, forming 
almost every accommodation for mills and machinery. Over this 

* MS. Letter of J. Grorer, Esq MS. Letter of Luke Riely, Esq. 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 45 

river there are four large bridges in the town of Buckfield, and The An- 
several in Turner. This part of the country has been exceed- 
ingly injured by fires, particularly in 1816, when the flames spread 
and raged to a very alarming degree. 

At Lewiston, 20 miles above Brunswick, the cataract is called 
the Upper falls of Pejepscot ; where the water tumbles over 
massy rocks, and rushes through narrow passes, about 100 feet 
perpendicular, from the surface above to the bed below. These 
fails are not abrupt as over a mill-dam, but descend on an in- 
clined plane, broken with ledges. Here are mills, and one is 
supplied with water through a channel sunk in solid rock. The 
river below the fills is 50 or 60 rods wide, and seldom so shoal 
as to be fordable by a man and horse, even in the drought of sum- 
mer. 

As you stand on an elevation, one mile below these falls, you 
see the rapid river, called the little Androscosi:2:in, flow in from •_'■"'« ^n- 
the westward, shooting its current across the bed of the main 
Androscoggin, forming a channel on the eastern shore, and adding 
a fourth to the main river. It rises in Woodstock and Norway ; 
and receives waters from Moose and Glenson ponds in Paris, as 
it passes between the swells of that town, and also those of Thomp- 
son pond on the southerly side, turning many mills, especially in 
Minot and some in Poland, which two towns it separates. It has 
generally high banks, though lined with intervales or strong land. 

On the east side of the great Androscoggin, there is one tribu- 
tary river above Lewiston falls, which deserves to be mentioned 
for its peculiarity. This is the Thirty mile or Dead river, which l.iiileDead 
is the natural and only outlet of great Androscoggin pond, 3 and 
1-2 miles long and 3 broad, between Leeds and Wayne ; and of 
small ponds 15 miles in extent northwardly.* Dead river, from 
the outlet in Leeds to Androscoggin river, is six miles in length, 
8 or 10 rods in width and deep ; and its bed is so level and ex- 
actly horizontal, that the rise of the great river eighteen inches, 
will invert the current of Dead river its whole length. In great 
freshets, much water is forced into the pond, which becomes a 

* Oilier ponds nre, little Aodroscogg-in pond, Muddy poud, Wilson's poad, 
and Hutcbiasoa's pond. 



46 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

The An- reservoir : greatly soaking, however, and hurting the lands on its 

dioscoggin. , , » 

borders. 

Below the mouth of little Androscoggin, the water rapidly 
ripples : and the upper falls [at Lewiston,] were formerly said to 
be the northwestern limit of the Pejepscot purchase. 
Lovver7aiis '^^^*^ cataracts of Pejepscot, or Brunswick falls, arc contracted 
from a quarter of a mile in some places, to forty and possihly to 
thirty rods, in width. Here the water pours over falls of fifty feet, 
barred or checked in different parts by three grades of dams. 
On the lower grade the dam is semicircular, embattled near the 
centre with an Island which thrusts off the waters on each of its 
sides, though mostly on the west, under arches of tire winding 
bridge in two parts, which rests its approximating ends on the 
Island. Below the bridge the river expands to the width of aa 
hundred rods, and the tide at higli-water, rises four feet- Above 
the head of the falls, the river is spacious and glassy j and ta 
secure floating logs, and stop flood-wood,,, piers are sunk at great 
expense, and large timbers in joints so fastened to them with irons 
as to form an impassable boom. 

On these falls are 25 saw mills, each of which will on an aver- 
age, annually cut 500,000 feet of boards. They employ about 
300 men. Here also were carding machines, fulling mills, and. 
factories ; 1,488 cotton and woollen spindles, and 24 looms whose 
warping and sizing machines were moved by water power.f 

The water in the freshets not unfrequently rises in the river, 20 
feet : and in 1814, immense damage was done by the uncommon 
flood, which brought down mills, barns, masts, logs and trees, 
over the falls, in undistinguished ruin. 

At the falls, the river formerly had the name Pejepscot, till it 
lost itself in Merry-Meeting hay. In the middle of this bay are 
sand-beds bearing a species of reed, upon whose roots feed wild 
geese and other seafowl. These sands, often changing their drifts, 
greatly injure the navigation toward the falls. 

i\Ierry-IMeeting bay, from the falls to its outlet, may be 10 
miles in length, winding round towards the north, till it meets and 



*MS. Letter of Thomas Francis, Esq.—" On Norris' Island, in the pond, 
is an Indian bury in;?-gTouiul."— MS. Letter of A. G, Chandler, Esq. 

f DtbtrcVLcl in 132"), by firc. 



Sect, ii.] of MAINE. 47 

embraces the Kennebec waters, receiving on the northwesterly The An- 
side, as it glides forward, 1st. Muddy river, which is a long 
arm of the sea, collateral to the bay ; 2. Cathance, which is 
mostly a salt water river, and navigable 3 miles to Cathance 
landing ; and, 3d. Ahagadusset, whose mouth is near Kennebec, 
at which is a point of that name, where was once a small fort, 
and where the Sachem Ahagadusset had his residence, about 1 665. 

On the southerly side of Merry-Meeting bay, near the extreme 
of the Chops, is JViskeag or JVisgig Creek, which extends south 
into the land two miles ; from the head of which to that of Stev- 
ens' river, the neck is only one mile in width, across which 
Mr. Peterson, in 1800, cut a canal eight feet in breadth, suffi- 
ciently deep to float logs at highwater. Stevens, the ancient Indian 
trader, lived on the northerly side of where the canal now is, 
two miles above the turnpike bridge, which leads from Brunswick 
to Bath, and which is at the head of navigation over Stevens' 
river. Here was the Indian carrying place between Casco and 
Merry-Meeting bays. 

The next river to be described is the Kennebec, which is some Kennebec 
longer, larger, less rapid, and less serpentine than the Androscog- ^^''"' 
gin. Its length from its sources to Merry-Meeting bay, in direct 
course, may be 1 30 miles, and its actual run 40 miles more. It 
is formed by two principal branches, viz : tlie JVorth Branch 
and Dead river, called, where they meet, the forks, and are 
said by travellers to be 48 and 1 -2 miles above the south bend 
at Norridgewock village. 

The JVorth Branch issues from Moosehead lake, which is the p,Z^nc\\. 
largest body of fresh water in the State, or in New-England. It M"oschead 
is twelve leagues in length, from north to south ; and its upper 
rills head within twenty rods of the Penobscot. It receives 
Moose river from the west, which rises among the highlands. In 
this lake there are four kinds of fish : — 1 . One kind, which is 
from 1 and 1-2 to 3 and 1-2 feet in length, has teeth, fins, 
and a head larger than that of a salmon, weighs from 5 to 
16 pounds, and is good for the table. 2. There arc two sorts of 
trouts, one has a white belly, a beautifully spotted back, and is ex- 
ceedingly good for food ; the other, which is without scales, not 
so large and hardly fit to eat, is of a brown colour with a black 
head, weighing from 1 to 2 and 1-2 pounds. 3. Another kind 



48 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

Kennebec of fsh wliicli IS found ill shoals, •'" cm 12 to 18 inches in length, 
scaled, and in shape somewhat resembling a mackerel, and is 
called " white fish." When taken (though seldom with a hook,) 
it is very palateable. — 4. In the lake is also found the fresh water 
cusk, very much resembling that of the salt water, weighing from 
2 to 7lbs. — 5. There are also lobsters, not much unlike in form 
those taken in the salt water, though smaller, as these are only 
fro 1 o to 5 inches in length. 

The length of the North Branch from the outlet to the forks, 
where it meets Dead river, is about 20 miles. The traveller from 
this place to Canada, finds the road well cleared, bridged, and 
passable for wheels ; crosses JMoose river 28 miles from the 
forks, thence at intervals of 7, 8, and 10 miles, he passes over 
the three branches of the Penobscot, and five miles further, 
reaches the " Mile Tree" before mentioned, on the heights.* 

Dead river. Dead river rises among the boundary highlands, three leagues 
from the northwest corner of Maine, near those which rise and 
run north into the Chaudiere. It descends in a southeasterly 
direction till it has passed Mount Bigelow on the south, where 
it turns towards the north, and then to the east, and joins the 
North Branch, yielding more than a third part of the water which 
constitutes the river below the crotch or forks. Dead river is 
rapid ; its mouth is about 60 rods wide, though its water there is 
usually, quite shoal. 

The course of the Kennebec, below the forks, is nearly south. 
It runs through a fine country of wild land 12 or 15 miles ; it 
then passes the " carrying place rips," half a mile in length ; and 

Carratunk 20 miles below the forks, it descends the Carratunk falls, which 
have Solon on the east and Embden on the west. Here the river, 
which is 30 rods wide, is contracted to 40 feet only and pitches 
over the rocks in a beautiful sheet of water 35 or 40 feet, though 
the carrying place by them is about fifty rods, to be prevented by 
a canal on the eastern side. The appearances of the falls are 
commanding ; while the eye as it chases down the current 60 
rods, is relieved in view of spacious smooth waters. Anciently 



* From Mile Tree to Quebec is 94 miles, viz : to the mouth of Chaudiere 
29, f hence to St. Marie's 35, and llience to Quebec, 30 miles. — Holderi's 
house is situated one mile north of Moose nver bridg-e. 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 49 

these falls were a place of great resort by the Indians in fishing Kpnnpi)ec 
ti.ne, where they took salmon in abundance.* 

From Carratunk falls to JYorridgewock falls, which are just "Vorrifi^c 

... .' work iaWi. 

above the mouth of Sandy river, the distance is called 14 miles. 
Here the water does not descend in a cataract ; its whole fall in 
the length of near half a mile would not exceed probably fifty feet. 
In dry times the river is fordable here, and sometimes also at 
Norridgevvock village, six miles below. 

Sandy River, after watering several townships, runs circuitous- ^^"'^^ 
ly through Farmington, and taking the little Norridgewock, pro- 
ceeds northeasterly to the Kennebec. No part of the State is 
more justly celebrated for its beauty and fertility than the lands 
on this river, particularly in that town. Here were the Indians' 
old cornfields, in the deep intervales which spread wide from the 
river enriched by its annual overflowings. f 

In the bend of the Kennebec, on its east bank opposite to the 
mouth of Sandy river, at Norridgevvock point, is the site of the '•'N,'""„i"'e- 
ancient village of the Canibas Indians, so famous in history. The ^'"'" 
land is a level and fertile intervale, and its natural situation 
beauiiful. Tiie area contains 250 acres, and is the spot where 
the old catholic chapel stood. Its bell, weighing 64lbs., was 
lately found and presented to Bowdoin College. 

From Norridgevvock point, the Kennebec takes a turn and 
runs southeast to the village, 6 miles, and then northeast, five 
miles, descending through narrows, and down Scouhegan falls, j^<;p"''<^o«» 
12 or 15 feet, and the rapids below, in all half a mile. Here it 
receives, through Cornville from the north, the river fVesserun- Wev* 
sett, a large and most pleasant stream, J At Scouhegan falls are ' 
about ten mills and machines, and also villages on both sides of 
the river connected by a bridge. The north or upper line of 
the Plymouth patent runs east and west a couple of miles above 
the mouiii of the Wesserunsett river, though the proprietors claim- 
ed six miles at least further north. § 

* JIS. Letters of E. Coolidgc, Esq.— IJon. Obcd Wilson,— Win. Buflcr- 
ficld,- O. Baker. 

t MS. Letter of Hon. Nathan Cutler, of Farininj^ton. 

IMS. Letter of A. Morse, Esq. and a plan. "At Scoiilicg-an falls is 
Scouliejan Islaad : the waters on the west side form some of the best miU 
sites in the State. 

^ MS. Letter of G. Bixbv, Esq. 



scnin- 
I'li live r. 



50 



Teconnel 

falls. 



Sebasti- 
cook. 



Fort Tecon. 
net, or Hali 
fax. 



Fort West- 
ern. 



Cobbesse- 
coQtee. 



Swan 
Island. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

The next, to the southward, are Teconnet falls, 15 miles be- 
low the Scouhegan and opposite the village of Waterville, where 
the water in a short distance descends about twenty feet. Below 
Teconnet, the Sebasticook, rising near some branches of the 
Penobscot and running southwesterly, empties its waters into the 
Kennebec on the eastern side. It is a large mill stream and in 
many places rapid. On the point of land above the confluence 
of the two rivers, and below the falls, was the old Teconnet fort 
of the Indians and afterwards fort Halifax of the English, built 
in 1754, during many years a most noted place. The fort itself 
is in Winslow, and the block-house was lately standing. 

Fort Western is also on the east side of the Kennebec, a little 
below and near the bridge, in Augusta, about 16 miles south of 
fort Halifax, built by the Plymouth company in 1 754, still ex- 
hibiting all the prominent appearances of its location.* To this 
place the tide flows and rises two feet,-j- and small vessels of 100 
tons ascend ; being 45 or 50 miles from Seguin Lighthouse. 

The next considerable tributary of the Kennebec is Cohbesse- 
contee river, an inviting stream for mills and machinery. It 
issues from Winthrop pond, north of west from its mouth, and 
running in the form of a semi-ellipsis, receiving in its course the 
waters of Cobbessecontee pond and almost encircling the town 
of Gardiner, empties into the Kennebec, on the western side, 
seven miles from fort Western. It is crossed near its mouth by a 
dam of split stone, and is ornamented by a number of mills and 
among them an excellent flour mill. The name of the river is 
of Indian etymon and signifies " Sturgeon nver." J 

Five miles lower we meet with Swan Island, in the river 
where it divides Bowdoinham on the west, from Dresden on the 
east shore. The Island is four miles in length and 200 rods in 
mean w^idth, anciently the dwelling-place of an Indian Sagamore, 
who lived here about the time the country was first settled, and 
who joined in most of the conveyances, made by the Indians in 
those times, of lands on the Kennebec. The Island itself is a 
part of the town of Dresden and its soil is good ; the river is 



* MS. Letter of Hon. Daniel Cony. Lat. of Augusta, iZdeg. 14nun. : 
the bridge cost $26,000. 
t The Tide rises at Hallowell 6 feet. 
I MS. Letter of R. H. Gardiner, Esq. 



Sect, ii.] OF Maine. 51 

navigable on both sides of it, though the cliannel mostly used is 
on the eastern side. Between this Island and the mouth of the 
Cobbessecontee, five miles below the latter, in Pittston, is a small 
Island and stream, by the name of JVehumkeag, or JVegumkike* Nahnm- 
[or eel-bed,] a noted place mentioned in the Plymouth patent. ''*''°" 

Old Pownalborough, which included Dresden, Wiscasset, and 
Alna, as they are now bounded, was the ancient plantation of 
Franlcfort. On the margin of the river in Dresden, the Ply- 
mouth company, in 1754, constructed and erected a fortress, 
which they called Franlcfort, or fort Frankfort, afterwards Fort Frank- 
named fort Shirley, laid out a parade 200 feet square and built i.\ .' 
two block-houses. It was 16 miles from fort Western and 33 
from fort Halifax. 

Richmond fort a very ancient establishment, was on the west- Ridimond 
em side of the Kennebec, one mile and an half below fort Frank- 
fort, and nearly opposite the upper end of Swan Island. 

The Chops are so called because they open and receive the Chops. 
waters of the Kennebec and Androscoggin, after they merrily 
meet and form the great Merry-JMeeting bay. From their throat,f 
or the narrows, to the sea, the waters of the two rivers in junc- 
tion are called Sagadahockj^ to its mouth, having Bath and j;^-5*^'' 
Phipsburg on the west, and Woolwich and Georgetown on 
the east. About a league below the Chops, abreast of Bath 
village, it is divided by Arrowsick Island at first, and seconded 
by Parker's Island, a little lower on the east, and part of its wa- 
ters passes down Lo7ig reach, to a short turn which then takes Lon^ reach, 
the name of Fiddler''s reach, and washes the shores of Phipsburs; f ni(i)ers 

' ^ "^ reach. 

and Arrowsick Island ; the other part runs between Woolwich 
ajnd the northeast end of AiTowsick and of Parker's Island, 
through Cross river, or the Gut, to Sheepscot river, two leagues ; Cross river. 

* Opposite to the Island is jyahuvxkea^ stream, ia Pittston, whicli is too 
small for mills except in wet seasons. Tliere were attempts to fix iLc pa- 
tent on the east side of the river at this place : but it was extended to the 
north line of Woolwich. 

t At the Throat is King-'s Island, of ISO acres, a mile above the ferry, 
which ferry is two miles above Bath. At the ferry the river is 1-2 mile 
and 4 rods wide. Above King's Island is the Chops. 

\ Anciently " Sunkatimkarunk.'''' — mouth of Rivers.— //o7i. D. Scuall. — 
Or rather " Sunkaradimk.'"— Kennebec Claims, 14. 



62 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntroDUC. 

Back river or southeast, through the eastern passage called Back river, which 

separates those two Islands, 
vvinne- Winmgance creek, is a cove making down south, two miles 

treuk. from the turn where Long reach and Fiddler's reach meet, and 
ends within 20 rods, across land, of the easterly branch of 
Stevens' river before mentioned. As to widths, the main river 
at the mouth between Phipsburg and Parker's Island, is more 
than half a mile ; Back river, 8 or 10 rods, and Cross river from 
6 in some places to 100 rods in others. A bridge connects Par- 
Two Bridg- ker's Island and Arrowsick Island ; and there is another over 
Winnegance creek, to avoid going round its head in passing from 
Phipsburg to Bath. 

On the north side of the aforenamed passage, called Cross 
river, which runs down southeasterly, having Arrowsick and 
Parker's Islands southerly, and Woolwich and Jeremisquam Isl- 
Mjinseag ^^^^ northerly, is Monseag bay. From about midway of Cross 
river it stretches up northerly, between Woolwich and Jeremi- 
squam Island, two leagues in length, and is sometimes called Mon- 
seag or " Monsweag" river. In Woolwich on the northerly shore 
of this bay or river, in a pleasant situation, was the birthplace of 
Gov. Phips. Governor Phips, now a well cultivated farm. 
jiJeqiiassei. JVequasset stream is very short ; the water is salt to the head 
of the tide, and it is wholly in the town of Woolwich. It issues 
from a pond of 400 acres in that town, and turns several mills at 
the falls where it meets the tide. Here is one of the best ale- 
wive-fisheries in the State. Anciently Woolwich was called the 
JVequasset-settlement.-\ 
Phiiwbuig. Phipsburg is a peninsula, divided northerly from Bath by Win- 
negance creek and a narrow isthmus between it and the east 
branch or cove of Stevens' river, and includes Cape Small-pomt 
at its southwestern extremity. A mile above the southeast corner 
or projection of this peninsula, on what is called HilVs point, is 
the plat of ground where the Sagadahock colony passed the winter, 
United 1608 — 9. The United States' fort is near the same spot, though a 
bi.uL* °"' jit^jg .fyj-^j^g^ g^gj^ The fort built by those ancient colonists was 
called fort St. George, but gradually acquired the name of 
Popham's Pophani's fort. The remains of it and of several houses or 

fori. . 

* Now Westport, t MS. Letter of E. Delano, Esq. 



Sect, ii.] op Maine. 53 

habitations built there, and afterwards revived and increased in 
number to 10 or 12 by tlic new Plymouth settlers, are yet seen. 

The colony, at first, landed on Stage Island, situate on the ^"''^^ 
east side of the channel, south of Parker's Island, and separate 
from it by a narrow shallow strait. On this little Island of 8 or 
10 acres, they erected a fortification and dug a well, which was 
walled and parted by a partition still apparent. But because 
they could not get good water, they removed across the river* 
and settled on the peninsula, westward. 

jirrowsick-\ Ishnd is mostly excellent land. It is five miles Arrowsick. 
long, its mean breadth is one mile, and it contains 4000 acres : 
It has 200 acres of marsh ; some ledges, and some yet in woods, 
and is sep-.raiGd from Phipsburg by the main channel, more than 
half a mile wide. The first settlement of this Island was very 
early. Ilamniond^s fort was on the northeast part next to Cross Hammond'a 
river, opposite INIonseag bay : the other settlement was about a 
mile above the south end of the Island and extended quite across 
it, having back of it, on the eastern shore, the new tier of lots, 
anciently called JVeivtoivn^'l which has sometimes given this name Newiown 
to the whole Island. The remains, or appearances of 50 dwel- 
lings, which were destroyed by the savages in the first Indian 
wars, can now be discovered. 

Parker^ s Island, originally Eraskohcgan, lies southeasterly of Parker's 
Arrowsick, separated from it by Back river. It is nine miles 
long, and on an average one mile and an half in width, contain- 
ing about 10,000 acres, one half of which is yet covered with 
native woods. It has 500 acres of marsh ; but two thirds of 
its territory arc mostly ledges and swamps. It is said that John 
Parker commenced the settlement of this Island in 1G29, spent 
the winter following on its south side, where are the appearances 
of some ancient habitations. Amid Indian hostilities, this Island 
was for a time abandoned, but never forsaken. It was actually 
purchased of a Sagamore, by Parker about 1 643. Near midway 
of this Island is Georgetown meeting-house. 

The Sagadahock plantations, or settlements, must be called Sagadahock 
the " Ancient Dominions" of Maine. As they revived and ex- ^ '"''""^"'• 

*Tlio River here is said to be about a mile Avlde. 

f " Arroscag." In SuUivan, 145. 

I Said to be '• in the old connty of Cornwall." — Blc, of Cloimt, 



54 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

tended between North- Yarmouth on the west, and Sheepscot on 
the east, they included the peninsula [or Phipsburg and Bath,] 

QijQ g. Arrowsick, Eraskohegan, and Nequasset, and constituted Old 

town, Georgetown. After the re-embarkation of the first colony, A. D. 

1609, this section was visited by Captain Smith, and Capt. Hunt, 
in 1614, and by almost all others who came into the contiguous 
waters ; it was also the early resort of colonists from New-Ply- 
mouth.* 

The Sagadahock river is sometimes frozen over below the 
Chops. The tide rises at Bath 10 feet, at Augusta 2 feet, and 
at Topsham 4 feet, where the flood-tide is an hour later than in 
Maquoit bay. The run of salmon and shad, both in Androscog- 
gin and Kennebec, is almost at an end. 

Sheepscot Sheejpscot river, which has a communication with the Sagada- 
hock, by means of Monseag bay, is neither long nor is it, above 
the tide waters, very large. It rises in Palermo, and after running 
through Whitefield and Alna, where it is only a mill stream, it 
descends the falls which are five miles above Wiscasset point. On 

Sheepscot the Sheepscot, at and above these falls, are the old " Sheepscot 

farms" which He each side of the river in Alna and New-Castle. 

The falls are at the head of the tide and of navigation, though 

Wiscasset. they are not great, f The waters of Wiscasset hay have the 
upper end of Jeremisquam Island and Cowsegan Narrows to Mon- 
seag bay on the south ; Wiscasset point and village on the northwest, 
and Decker's Narrows in view j Folley Island, in the northwest 
corner of Edgecomb, on the southeast ; and the waters of the 
river, on the northeast, which will safely float vessels of 100 tons 
to Sheepscot Narrows, about four miles, into the town of New- 

* Hon. Mark L. Hill,— MS. Letter, of Benj. Riggs, Esq.— In king- Phil- 
lip's war, A. D. 1676 " the inhabitants lost lOOC head of cattle."— ii/wft. 
Ind. wars, 281. 

t A little above Wiscasset, on the New-Castle side, is a salt Marsh of 
1000 acres, on a mill stream. The land between Bath ferry and Wiscasset, 
8 miles, is hilly :— Also the land, |from the Sheepscot falls and bridge, 6 
miles above Wiscasset, to the outlet of Damariscotta pond, by which the 
river divides New-Castle from Nobleborough, is Lilly rough land. The 
pond is 27 miles in circumference, the water at the outlet _is sufficient to 
carry a mill. The toll bridge which unites the two villages of New-Castle 
and Nobleborough, is about 2 or 3 miles below the outlet. The river is 
navigable to the foot of the mill, belovy the outlet. — The fort is 12 miles 
below the village. — These places are often mentioned in ancient History. 



Sect, ii.] of waiine. 55 

Castle, towards the river Damariscotta. The distance from Wis- 
casset point to the United States' Ibrtification on Folley Island is 
iiair a mile ; and to the head of Jeremisquam Island, three quar- 
ters of a mile ; and directly across the river to the east shore, 
where Edgecomb and New-Castle corner on the bank, it is one 
mile. Here is an excellent harbour, very seldom frozen, with a 
good depth of water, smooth bottom and a tide ordinarily of 
twelve feet ; it is 20 miles N. N. E. of Seguin. Wiscassct-point 
is 1 and 2-3 leagues N. W. of Cross river.* 

Jeremisquam Island, situated between Monseag bay and the J^'emi- 

. . . squam. 

main channel of the Sheepscot, is eleven miles in length, and, on an 

average, one mile wide, and contains 15,460 acres, forming a 

third part of the town of Edgecomb, to which it has belonged. 

East of Jeremisquam is Barter^ Island, three miles and a half {jf^l,^* 

long and half a mile in width. The main channel, which has 

fifteen fathoms of water, is between these two Islands, though 

small vessels may pass up Back river, which is the passage on the 

east side of Barter's Island. From the head of Back river, the 

water in the " Oven''s mouth,^^ stretches east in a narrow strait, Oven's 

between Boothbay and Edgecomb, more than half way across 

from Sheepscot to Damariscotta river, and then turns south. 

On the southwest side of Boothbay, which bounds on the east 

shore of the Sheepscot, is the Island of Cajje Kewagen, 4 and Cnpe Nc- 

1-2 miles long, generally one mile wide and separated from Booth- ^*^^^"" 

bay, to which it belongs, by a narrow passage for small vessels, 

called Townscnd Gut. Ebenecook harbour is on the west side Townsend. 

TVT Till Ebenecook. 

and midway of cape Newagen Island, where was an old scttle- 
n>ent ; and Cape harbour at its south end, is near two great rocks 
called the Cuckolds. Cuckolds. 

The distance across land through Boothbay or Edgecomb, 
between the Sheepscot and Damariscotta rivers, is generally a 
little less than four miles ; and in New-Castle the waters of those 
rivers approach still nearer each other. The southeast section of 
Boothbay is Linekin^s JVcck, between which and Cape Newacen i-ii'^'^in's 
IS Townsend harbour, two miles and a half wide ; and in the 
middle of the latter is Squirrel Island of 90 acres, which is SanT' 

* John .Mason lircd at Wiscassct-point ; liie Davies, north about half a 
mile, and Jf'alttr Pliilij)*, Recorder under the g;overnrucnt of the Duke 
of Yerk, lived on the New-Castle tide. 



56 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

inhabited by three families and is a noted place for its abundance 
of white sand. 

At Townsend, that is, in Boothbay harbour are several little 

HnniiisiaiKi Islands; one is Burnt Island ne^r the east shore of Cape Ne- 
'" ' ' wagen, on which is the Lighthouse. 

Damaris. Damariscotta river issues from Damariscotta fresh ponds 

co.ia liver ^^,ijjg|^ gj.g jj^ jgff^i-gQn a^d Nobleborough, and which are three 
or four leagues in length from north to south. At the upper or 
fresh water falls, where the water descends 50 feet in as many 
rods, it is crossed by a free stone-bridge ; and two miles below. 

The falls, at the lower or salt water falls, New-Castle and Nobleborough 
are connected by a toll and drawbridge over the river. The 

Oysipf Oyster banks, on both sides of the river at the upper falls, deserve 
to be noticed. On the banks and margin of the west side, these 
shells lie in heaps from 12 to 15 feet high, covering an area of 
several rods ; and although the heaps on the eastern side are not 
so high, they extend back twenty rods from the river, and render 
the land wholly useless. When burned they make lime as white 
and good as that of limestone, and as easily slacked. It is also 
said, the skeletons and bones of human beings are found among 
them ;* yet no tradition about them has come to the present gen- 
eration. 

The Damariscotta river is navigable for ships of any burthen 
about four leagues from the sea to the lower falls ; and is on an 
average half a mile in width. At its mouth, it has Linekin neck 

Ruihcifoni's on the west, and Ruihei'jord's Island, one mile in length, and 

'riMimprnps. Thumpcop Ledges on the east — bounding the west side of Pe- 
'"'"" '"^' maquid bay. From Inner Heron Island, ly'm^ at the mouth of 



rows. 



the river, up to the United States battery on Narrow's Island in 

the western side of the channel, the distance is 4 miles. 

Southwesterly of Damariscotta river, easterly of Townsend 

Light and southerly of Linekin neck or point, are the noted 
Dam.-.ns- Damariscovt Islands,^ though they are of small sizes. They 
Fisiierm. Ill's ^■''^ in number five or six, viz. 1. Fishermen's Island of 70 
isiiiiKi. acres, with the Hippocras, one mile south of Linekin's neck, is 

rocky, poor and forbidding, the residence of one family. 2. 

* MS. Letter of E. Rollins, Esq. MS. Letter of M. Davis, Esq. 

I " A place of g-reat advantage for stages for Fishermen in former 
times." Thej- lie to the west by north from Monhcgan. — Bub. J^ar. 280* 



Hippocras. 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 57 

Wood Island, or Damariscovc proper, a mile fartlicr south, is ^Voo<l 
two miles in leiij^ih, from N. E. to S. W. and half a mile wide 
in some places. It is the largest and best of the whole, and is also 
inhabited by one family. It belonged to the old Pemaquid pa- 
tent. 3. JVhitc Island, eastward of Fisherman's Island, is a wiiiie 
mere rock, and has the appearance of two little Islands : It is 
called the north Damariscove Island. 4. Heron Island, and 5. ii«.ron. 
Pumpkin rock, arc east of Wood Island, the one a mile, and the Fuiii(jkiii 

, rock. 

other half a mile distant, being a barren rock, 20 leet above the 

level of the sea : — Bantham Ledsrcs are southwest of this cluster Bamham 

^ Ledges. 

of Islands.* 

John^s river is an arm of the sea, stretching up a couple of John's river, 
miles from the northwest part of Pemaquid bay, into the land be- 
tween Damariscotta and Pemaquid rivers. East of it is Pema- Pmiaquid 
quid river, -f small, and only fourteen miles from its source to 
its mouth. It issues from Pemaquid pond, in Nobleborough. 
It is an inviting, convenient stream, till we descend within two 
miles of its mouth, at the head of the tide and of navigation. 
Here are rippliiigs, to avoid which, a canal was cut twenty rods ^ canal, 
in length, about ten feet wide and variously tleep from 6 to 10 
feet, calculated to receive a smooth sheet of water over a very 
level bed ; though no water runs there at the present time. Nor 
is there any tradition when or by whom this ingenious work was 
performed. Pemaquid bay affords one of the most pleasant har- 
bours in the State. 

Fort William IIennj,\ previously Fort George, w^as on the cast Fon 

1 ,- X-. • 1 • • 11 -1 William 

bank of Pemaquid river near its moutli, where it takes a turn neur>-. 
to the west and is forty rods wide, and the tides from 14 to 16 
feet. The fort was on a point of land which projects into the 
river and completely commands its entrance. Its ruins are the 
melancholy remains of great labour, and expense ; and during 
the Revolution, the hand of destruction did much to prevent its 

* Tlicy are nearest Wood Island, and dangerous ; there have been many 
wrecks on tlicm. 

f Anciently Pcmaquideag or Pcmaqidda; Long Point. — Indian. 

X Col. Dunbar called it Fort Frederic. Perhaps he caused the canal to 
be made. — Sec Post. Hi.it. ^4. D. 1731. — Below the Fort was a handsome- 
ly paved street, extcpding towards it, northeastwardly from the water 60 
rods. It is still to be seen ; and like the canal, it is the work of unknown 
hands. 

Vol. I. 5 



68 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntroDUC. 

becoming a fortress of the enemy. Some of its walls however 
are now 3 feet high. 

point^'^""^ From the fort, directly south, to Pemaquid point, is three mile 
and a quarter, having on the west side of Pemaquid bay, which 
generally a mile and a half wide, Rutherford's Island and Thump 

New har- cap ledges.* J\''ew harbour is a league above Pemaquid point o 
the eastern shore, towards Muscongus and nearly east of the o] 
fort, across land ; its ledges have 5 feet of water at the lowest ebb . 
Pemaquid river is generally about four miles from Damariscotta 
river, over land, and nearly as far from the waters of the Mus- 
congus river, in many places, though only about two miles from 
the west margin of Broad bay. The southerly Island in this bay 

Muscongus towards the western shore is Musconpus Island, of more tha 

Jsland, and '-' 

oihers, QOO acres, inhabited by 8 or 10 families, and beautified with sev 
eral fine farms. It has upon it a convenient schoolhouse. There 
are ten families on Long Island, and also families on other 
Islands ; several of which afford pleasant residences for their 
inhabitants, and exhibit considerable wealth. These Islands be- 
long to the town of Bristol. 

JMusconffus river rises in Montville and in Union, and is an ex- 

miiscongus '-' 

river. cellent mill stream, which is advantageously used for that purpose. 

Its course is south, through Waldoborough, till it mixes with the 
tide at the head of navigation, seven miles from the sea. Vessels 
of 200 tons may come up to the bridge. After descending 3 
miles from Waldoborough village, which is at the head of the 
tide, it takes a short turn to the west, where it is only 100 feet 
wide, and receives the waters of a cove from the northwest called 

Broad cove. JBroad cove ; and soon afterwards spreads and passes down each 
side of the above named Islands, being about two miles across 
from the southwest point of Friendship to Bristol. The German 
settlements about Broad cove on the west shore in Bristol, are 

12 isia lis somewhat ancient. Upper JVarrows Island and Hog Island have 
2 or 3 families ; Poland's one family ; Pond, Haddock, Hungry, 
Otter, Jones'', and Garden Islands, Egg, and Shark rocks all 
adorn this bay. Broad cove affords a fine harbour for vessels 
of any size ;f and has been a place which has long attracted 
much notice. 

* A plan by Hon. D. Rose. 

■)■ MS. Letter of M. R. Ludwig, Esq. — Gorliam Parks, Esq. 



SkcT. II.] OF MAINE. 59 

Broad hay is between Pemaqnid point and St. George's Islands, Rmndhny. 
bree leagues over ; and is the receptacle of IMuscongus river, 
besides the Islands mentioned in the river, the bay embosoms 's'^nds. 
■ ihcrs ; one of whicii is half a mile long and is peopled by many 
"unilies ; another contains 85 acres, both of which belong to 
'"riendship ; — a third is Gray^s Island belonciing to Cushinir ; and . 

„ ' ' '' . Meduncook 

Aese two towns are partly separated by the small river Mcduncook. river. 

The river St. George* rises in Montville, near the head of •*;•■ <^corg« 
Muscongus river, and after rimning south twenty-five miles, and 
affording a variety of mill-privileges, meets the tide in Warren, 
about twenty miles from its mouth, as it runs. Large vessels as- 
cend to the narrows in the upper elbow, where it turns and runs 

short distance east and then south ; and small vessels may 
scend four miles higher, near to the head of the tide : its usual 
width below the narrows is about half a mile. The old fort on 
the east side of this river, which was long a place of refuge and 
defence, was about sixteen miles above its mouth : — Gen. Knox's 
house is near its ruins. It was built by the Waldo proprietors 
about 1720.f 

St. Gcorgc^s Islands, so often mentioned by early navigators, j;, (;, 
tire a large cluster, situated about the mouth of St. George's river '^'^"'^*- 
castwardly ; and on the east margin of Broad bay, being about 
twenty in number ; twelve or fourteen of which deserve to be 
described or mentioned. 

1 . Franklin Island is eastward of the mouth of Georsrc's river, Franklin 

1 r 1 • 1 1 T ^ Island. 

a league from the mani land. In 1806 it was ceded to the United 
States and a Lighthouse was built there the same year, at an ex- 
pense of $3,370, and the keeper is the only resident upon it. J 
2. Ilerrimr-o-ut Island, or Cobb^s Island, lies towards the eastern C"'>'>'' "r 

... . Herring 

shore of George's river, in its very mouth. It contains about 300 island, 
acres, is owned by 3Ir. Bradford, and is occupied only by him 
and his family. He has on it a dwellinghouse and barn and some 
fields of cultivation. 3. Seavey^s Island^ is the northernmost of Seavc^'c 



leorrei 



* Anciently, " Segochet.''* Smith called it J\'oruich. 

t 4 Coll. Mass. His. Soc. 20. The famous attack w as A. D. 1722. 

J The lantern is 50 feet above the level of the sea, and has a fixed light. 

5 The '• /Aree" Gcorg'c's Islands, properly so called, are Seaveifn, Bumf, 
[or Bxtrnt-cnat,] and AHerCs Islands. Otter Island is 4 miles N. E. of 
Franklin Island. 



60 



Burnt-coat. 



Allen's. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [IntrODUC. 

the whole cluster. It is eight miles from Herring-gut point on 
the main, contains 20 acres of good land, all cleared, and is 
occupied by Mr. Seavey, its owner, and his family. 4. The 
next is Burnt-coat, not a gunshot distant j and between them is a 
harbour. It contains about 300 acres of pretty good land and is 
the residence of three families. 5. Allen^s Island, containing 
perhaps 250 acres of indifferent land and occupied by one family, 
is the easternmost of them all. The latter three lie south of 
Herring-gut ; E. S. E. from the mouth of St. George's river, 
and between two and three leagues distant. 6. South of the 
middle Island in the cluster, are two dangerous rocks, called the 
Old Man and Old Woman, one mile from the shore. 7. Vicory 
Island, so named after the first owner and occupant, contains 60 
or 70 acres, lies north of Burnt Island, and is without inhabitant. 
8. Davis'' or Griffin''s Island, of one family and 40 acres, lies to 
the northward of the preceding one. 9. Near to Griffin's Island 
Jo.Seavey's. is Jo. Seavey^s Island, owned by him, the dwellingplace of two 
families, containing 80 acres. ] and 1 1 . Bickmore's and Bar- 
ter^s Islands, are two w^hich nearly adjoin each other, one of 30 
and the other of 90 acres ; and each has on it one family, though 
rugged and unfit for agriculture. 12 and 13. Sto7ie''s and TieVs 
Islands, of 20 acres each, are severally occupied by one family, 
but they are both iron-bound, forbidding places. 14. No otlrer 
one of George's Islands is large enough to be particularly men- 
tioned, except ColwelVs Island, which contains 70 acres, occu- 
pied by two famihes. It is a high round Island covered with 
trees ; and lies nine miles and an half eastward of the entrance 
into George's river.* All the rest of George's Islands are small 
and some of them mere rocks. The distance between the Two 
Brothers and the most eastwardly of these Islands is three or four 
miles ; they all belong to the town of St. George. 

It is well known that Capt. Weymouth, with his ship's crew 
visited this river, A. D. 1605, called the harbour Pentacost har- 
bour, and gave to George's Islands the name they have since 
borne. Here he planted a garden, the first probably in this 
State. On Carver^s Island near the west bank of George's river 
at its entrance, is said to be some appearance of a very ancient 

*The vessel passes between eastern and western Eg-g-rocks in entering 
this river from the westward. ! 



Old man and 

Woman. 

Vicory. 



Davis' 
Island. 



Bickmore's 
and Bar- 
ter's. 



Stone's and 
Tiel's. 



Colwell's. 



Two 

Brothers. 



Pentacost 
harbour. 

An old gar- 
den. 



Sect, ii.] of MAINE. 61 

settlement, such as an old stone house in ruins, and other vesti- 
ges of antiquated liabitations. 

Monhcgan Island was in ancient times, without exception, tlie Monhegan. 
most famous one on the seaboard of this State. It was the land 
aimed at and first mentioned by the original voyagers and fisher- 
men about these waters ; and was so noted a stage for the latter 
as to be sometimes called a plantation. To this the New-Ply- 
mouth settlers resorted early and frequently, to exchange furs for 
provisions. In 1G2G, Abraham Shurtewas sent over by Elbridge 
and Aldsworth, to purchase the Island of the owner, Abraham 
Jennings of Plymouth, for which he gave £50.* It is situated 
nine miles southerly of George's Islands ; five leagues east-south- 
east of Townscnd, and 3 leagues westwardly of Mctinic. It con- 
tains upwards of a thousand acres of good land, has a bold shore 
on all its sides, a large projection of rocks at its northeastward 
part, and has one good harbour. On its south side is the Mcnan- 
nah Island of two acres, distant a cable's length, and the harbour 
is between the two Islands ; the entrance into it on the southwest 
of Monliegan being safe and easy.-j- 

The number of people on the Island is between 75 and 100, 
who inhabit 12 or 14 dwellinghouses, and are the owners of the 
soil, industrious, moral and well-informed. They have a school- 
house where their children are educated, and religious meetings 
are attended. Fishing and agriculture are the employments of 
the men ; they o\vn several vessels ; and while the more able bodied 
are engaged in the former business at home, and in the codfishery 
on the Grand Banks, the old men and boys cultivate the land, 
raising good crops, keeping cows, swine, and sheep. 

The Island, though within the county of Lincoln, belongs to 
no town. It is a democratic community : It has no officers of any 
kind, not even a Justice of the Peace. The people's affairs are 
governed and guided by tliemselves, conformably to certain pru- 
dential rules and usages which they have mutually established. 
They have paid one United States' direct tax, otherwise they are 
strangers to taxation, except what they pay towards die support 
of their school. The Lighthouse was erected on the Island in 
1824. 

* Shurtc's Deposition. 

t Capt. John Smitli sajs, in lt)l4, '> between Monahig'g'on and Monanis is 
a small harbour where wc rid." 



62 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

Metinic. Metinic Island is situate seven miles east by north from Mon- 

hegan ; 12 miles south of White-head and 2 and 1-2 leagues 
from Musqueto Island. It contains 300 acres of excellent land, 
being about two miles long from N. E. to S. W. and in one 
place is a mile wide. It has a bold shore and a landing place, 
though no harbour. It belongs to no town, though attached 
to the county of Lincoln ; and is owned by the Messrs. Thorn- 
dikes of Thomaston and St. George. There are two families 
on the Island, who cultivate the land with considerable success, 
though fishing is their principal employment. Between this 

bay. Island and the main land is Wheeler''s hay, three leagues over. 

Herring- Herring-gut has its western entrance at the mouth of St. 

^" ■ George's river, and is a reach of water stretching eastward, two 

leagues, to Musqueto Island, having on the north the rugged 
shore of the main land, being the south end of the town of St. 
George, and having the most of George's Islands southerly. 

Musqueto Musqucto Island is half a mile from the main land, or shore ; 
it is about a mile over it either way, and has upon it one house. 
Between it and the main is the eastern entrance of Herring-gut, 
over a bar of sand passable at two hours flood ; the vessels how- 

Urbour'* cver usually pass the outside of the Island. Tennanfs harbour 
is formed by that Island and the main and is a very fine harbour, 
1 00 rods wide, where 70 sail may lie in safety. 

South of Musqueto Island, distant 100 rods, are the '■'■ Two 
I3r others,'''' each of an acre, covered with trees. From these to 
Townsend harbour [Boothbay,] is thirty miles. 

Northeastwardly of Musqueto Island, one league and a half, 

Wliite-lieaJ. is White-head, which is a small Island one mile from the shore, 
of ten acres and one family. It is considered to be at the west- 
ern entrance of Penobscot bay, and on the 18th of June, 1803, 
the United States purchased it, and the next year erected a Light- 
house on it at the cost of ^'2,200.* 

From J'Vhite-head, leaving Seal or Sail harbour on the west, 
to Spruce-head, is north one mile ; thence to Ash point, abreast 

* Tlic lantern is elevated 50 feet above the level of the sea; and has a 
fixed lig-ht ; (he keeper has $300 by the year. From Monhe^an to White- 
head is N. E. 7 Icatriics. 



Licht. 



Sect, ii.] of MAINE. 63 

of Ash Island, is three miles ; and thence to OwVs head* in the Owl's head, 
northeastern corner of Thomaston, is five miles. 

Between White-head and Ash point, which arc a league apart, jyjy,^,^ 
are the JMusclc Ridges, consisting of ahout a dozen Islands ; the j^"'s'" 
most of which must now he mentioned though they arc sev- islands, 
crally small. 1, ^sA /sZanrf of 20 acres is very near the main, Ash, 
without inhabitant. 2, High Island, abreast the other, is a poor High, 
rocky place of 5 acres ; and 3, Potatoc Island of two acres, Foiaioe, 
is still southerly ; and both are uninhabited. But 4, Anderson''s Anderion'i, 
Island, cast of Ash point, of 300 acres, has three families upon 
it ; the land on its soudi end is good, and a farm was lately sold 
there for $1000. 5, Peabodifs Island of 70 acres, is poor land ; Pcabody'i, 
0, Pleasant Island ; 7, Two Bush Island [now one Bush,] being Pleasant, 
all three very small, have no resident upon them. Pleasant Island 
however is a site worthy its name, and Two Bush is so called q-^.^ b„j|,^ 
because it has exhibited two bushes conspicuous to the passing 
mariner. 8, Allen's Island, of 40 acres, was the residence of^n^^., 4 
one family till expelled by poverty. 9, Graffam''s Island is a graflan,-, 
pleasant one, well swarded into grass, though without inhabitant. 

There are a few others which are mere black rocks, without 
shrubbery or vegetation. Indeed they are all rocky and forbid- 
ding ; and no one belongs to any town. The passage from Pe- 
nobscot bay westward is through these ridges, leaving Ash Island 
on the west ; and tlie mariner always avoids them all, as big with 
danger. 

JMatinicus Island,-f is another such as Monhegan, situate 1 7 -yiaji^ipu,^ 
miles southeast of OivVs head and 10 east of Melinic. It is two 
miles in length and from one half mile to a mile in breadth, and 
contains 750 acres of excellent loamy land, three fouitlis of which 
are cleared. Near it, southerly, is lVhcaton''s Island, which forms Wheaion's 
the eastern part of the harbour ; and east is Wooden Ball rock, ,1/"'; 

' _ ' ' \\ ooi'en 

uninhabited. Soudieast is Raggcr-task, an Indian name, between ""'i ''"<■'«• 
which and Matinicus, is tolerable anchorage in stormy weather, laik,"' 
The Island of JMatinicus was inhabited very early, and " re- „ . . 
mains of stone houses are still apparent, generally supposed to people. 

* Ancieutly " Jlecadacut,'' Smith in his map and History, 1617, called it 
Dunbarlon. 

t The main passa!!:e into Penobscot bay from the sea is between Matinicus 
and the Green Islands. 



64 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

have been built by French or Dutch fishermen," though unknown. 
Also there are several places where the Indians had their camps, 
as is evident from the shells and bones found thereabouts.* It is 
often visited for the benefit of health. There are now about 100 
souls on the Island, in sixteen families : they have been claimed 
as a part of Vinalhaven, but have never been taxed, nor have they 
ever voted in public affairs. They have a schoolhouse and a school 
of 40 scholars ; and upon the Island there is a Calvinist Baptist 
church of 22 members. They are a very industrious, humane 
and moral people ; the men are engaged in fishing and farming ; 
and the women manufacture tlie principal part of family clothing. 
The Islanders own six fishing craft from ten to fifty tons each, and 
raise annually about 400 bushels of wheat and abundance of 
vegetables ; hving together in prosperity, quietude and happiness, 
without law and without rulers. 

Crecn The two Green Islands are northeast of Matinicus and near 

1 "^'^ *■ it, within the county of Hancock ; and though small, each of 2 
or 3 acres only and without inhabitant, the soil is so productive 
as to yield 1 00 tons of hay in a single year. 

Hog Island. Hog Island is half a mile southwest of Metinic Island, con- 
taining two acres of miserable barren land. 

JMunroe, or Mare's Island, is situate opposite Owl's Head, 

Island. an hundred rods distant, and the harbour is between them. It 
is claimed to be within the town of Thomaston, though most of 
it is in the county of Hancock. It contains 1 80 acres of good 
land, occupied by Mr. Munroe and his family. 

Sheep Island, the next one southerly, contains by admeasure- 

isiand. ment 74 acres of very good land, and bears a house and barn. 

Mark Mark, or Fishermen's Island, still farther south, of 3 or 4 acres, 

island. 

without a resident, is very woody ; and the one which the Brit- 
ish in the late war used as a place of rendezvous. 
Spruce- Above Owl's Head, on the same side, is Great Spruce head, 

fi'om which to Old Fort point in Prospect, is ten leagues north- 
northeast. In ascending to which, however, the mariner leaves 
HeMi!" Camden Heights on the west, which the older writers have 
Duckirap. viewed as mountains ; and Uucktrap harbour in Lincolnville still 
Bfilfasi bay. farther to the north ; and crosses the mouth of Belfast bay two 

Brigadier's . -o-tit77 r r i 

Island. leagues over to nrigadier s island, not lar Irom the western shore. 
* MS. Letter of T. \Vatcrman, Esq. 



Sect, ii.] of MAINE. 65 

This has a good harbour westward, called Loiig cove, and 
another to the northward — a bar extending from the Island to the 
main. Fort point above mentioned is near, making the distance 
from it to White-head thirty-six miles in a direct course. 

Fort Poicnal erected in 1759, by Governor Pownal, was Fori Tow- 
on the western sliorc. Its site was a pleasant and commanding 
siuiation in the town of Prospect, below the south end of Orphan Orpimn 
Island. Nothing of the fort remains except the entrenchments 
and circumvallations ; but the place has acquired the name of 

" Old Fort point. ^' As this may be considered at the mouth of <^^i'' f'""' 

. . . . [j<jiiii. 

Penobscot river, and at the head of Penobscot Bay, it will be 

proper now to begin with the sources of that river and trace it 

downwards to this place. 

The Penobscot river* is the longest of any one in the State ; T'enoi'scot 

^ river. 

and in its tide-waters, it is as large as the Sagadahock after the 
junction of the Kennebec and the Androscoggin. Its whole 
length, as it runs from its heads to Fort point, is supposed to be ^'^ ''cad*. 
about 200 miles. It has no reservoirs, such as the great lake which 
yields supply to the Kennebec ; it is formed by a great number of 
streams, which issue from ponds, swamps and springs, above and 
below the 46th parallel of latitude, and spread the whole width of 
the State ; its western sources being more than an hundred miles, 
in a straight course, from its pastern heads ; and so much do they 
all, like branches of one family, converge and aim at a general 
union, as to lorm a confluence and constitute the main ri^■er, 95 
miles from its mouth, and within about half a degree only, below 
the parallel above mentioned. 

The western branch of the Penobscot is supposed to be the 
largest. It rises m the highlands north of the Kennebec, east of branch, 
the Chaudicre and south of the St. John ; and what is noticeable, 
the head streams of the four rivers are quite near each other in 
several places. Its sources have been explored by the surveyors 
under the treaty of Ghent ; and it is found that the road from the 
forks of the Kennebec to " j[Jile 7Vec," crosses three primary 
branches of the Penobscot, two of which, one 4 and the other 6 

* Anciently " Penobskeng,'''' Indian ; Pentagoet, French. From Penobscot 
bay to Mount Desert, was called Naskct." t^milli called this country 
Low Mounds." Charlevoix says [1 roZ JV, /'. 2CG-10] the Pentag-oct river 
in the most ancient accounts of the Country was called " J\''uri7nbagua.^ 



66 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntrODUC. 

miles below the heights, are large mill streams where they cross 
the road. 

From the northwest branch of the Penobscot, rising between 
20 and 30 miles northeasterly of " Mile Tree," the carrying place 
into the main St. John is only two miles ; and some streams of the 
two rivers are much nearer each other. This great western 
branch, after collecting its waters from the north and south, runs 
eastwardly, not far from the northern margin of Moosehead lake, 
and empties into Chesuncook lake, sixty miles from some of its 
sources. The outlet river of this lake, which is 15 miles 
in length, runs southwardly and eastwardly 45 miles, till it em- 
braces the great eastern branch, and forms, what is called the 
junction, the waters in each being nearly equal. 

Its eastern The two main streams of this eastern branch rise about 50 or 60 
miles, from their heads to its union with the great western branch 
or the Neketow.* Twenty miles above this junction in the west 

Grand falls, branch, are the Grand falls, where the waters descend over a 
ledge of smooth rocks, fifty feet, through a channel 45 feet wide, 

Junction. Jnto a bason of unknown depth. In late years, the eastern branch 
has been explored above the junction ; and of the other, con- 
siderable is known to its several sources, though neither of them 
have yet any settlements on their banks. South of the junction, 
two miles, the Penobscot receives from the northeast a brook 

Salmon 

stream. called Salmon stream. 

Sixteen miles below the junction, is the mouth of the Meta- 

Melawam- _ '' 

keag. wamkeag\ river, which rises on the eastern side of the State, and 

flows many miles southeasterly towards Schoodic lakes ; then 
forms a bow and runs southwest twelve miles, and receives the 

Sebascohe- Sehascolieo-an, through which travellers and Indians ascend within 

gnn. o ' o ^ 

three miles of the Schoodic lakes. The Metawamkeag is as large 
as the Piscataquis, and larger than two of the Kenduskeag ; rapid, 
very rocky in several places, and has frequent falls and interve- 
ning still-waters. Its mouth is about thirty miles below that of 
the Sebascohegan ; and the mail, first established in 1826, passes 
up these two rivers through the Schoodic lakes to Houlton. 

* Necotok — where two streams come together, forming an acute angle. — 
Indian, 

f Metawarakeag means a stream running over a gravelly bed at its mouth. 
— Indian. 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 67 

From the mouth of tlie Aletawamkeas:, the Penobscot descends 
in a smooth and iiivitinp; current, navigable for the largest rafts, 
receivinsf on its west side the Medunkaunk, a small mill stream, '^'^''u'»'««- 
and the Madamiscondns, a large one ; and on the east side, the .Madamis- 
Metanawcook* 2-ods as large as Passadumkeag, and 16 miles 
above it. 

But the most important and considerable tributary of the Pe- 
nobscot is the Piscataquis, which comes from the west, and after Piscataquis, 
running 100 miles from its sources, empties itself 35 miles above 
the mouth of the Kenduskeag, and 35 miles below the junction. 
Three large streams constitute the Piscataquis, viz., Pleasant piea^nni 
river from the northwest, which rises on the east side of Moose- '^'^*'^' 
head lake ; ScOcc river from the west, which has some of its 1^;^^"*^ 
sources in the same neighbourhood, and Sebec pond in its course ; 
and Piscataquis proper, which comes more from the southwest; 
— the latter two embrace first, and 3 miles farther down, they 
receive the third, 12 miles from the mouth of the Piscataquis. 
Sebec and Pleasant rivers are about equally large, and few others of 
their size can fully compare with them in beauty and commodious- 
ness. They afford many excellent mill sites and in freshets will 
(loat large rafts. The three branches have low banks, interspers- 
ed with rich and extensive intervales. The flowing of the Piscat- 
aquis, which is 30 rods wide, is very quick and its waters uncom- 
monly transparent and pure. At its mouth it descends a fall of 
12 or 15 feet in the space of 10 rods ; and over a part of the 
fall the water pours in a thick and limpid sheet. In mixing with 
the Penobscot it adds to it nearly a third part of its waters. f 

Five miles below the Piscataquis, on the east side, is the Pnssa- 
dumkeag,'^ which rises near Schoodic waters and empties itself into keng. 
tlie Penobscot. It is boatable about 20 miles, excepting seven 
carrying places of inconsiderable lengths. On this river are ex- 
tensive natural meadows, where great quantities of hay are cut 
every year. 

The Penobscot, after flowing south, five miles, receives on the 
east side Olemon stream, which is little else than a large brook ; oicmoa. 
and likewise embraces an Island of excellent laud, called Olemon 

* Metanawkea*.— i;jcf/an. fCo!. J. Carpenter. 

\ Passadumkeag means, where (he water Hills into tlie river alnvc the 
falls. — Indian. 



68 



Sunkhaze. 



Stillwater. 

Osson 
Jslauil. 



Marsh 
Island. 



Oldtown 
Island. 



Orono 
Island. 



Great 
Woi ks. 



The Bend. 



Kendus- 
keaz. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

Island, containing 300 acres ; also Sugar Island of like size a 
little below, and several smaller ones in a short distance. Sunk- 
haze''^ stream is rather larger than Olemon stream, and empties 
into the Penobscot, eleven miles below, on the same side. Not 
less than 200 tons of hay are taken annually from its meadows. 
Both these streams together, probably, do not contribute more 
water to the main river than the Passadumkeag does itself. 

One mile below Sunkhaze, and 14 from the mouth of Kendus- 
keag, the Penobscot is parted in a very remarkable manner, so 
that about half the water next the eastern shore descends in direct 
course southerly, and the other half turns a short corner and runs 
northwest more than two miles, and then turning again almost as 
short, runs southerly seven miles, before the two branches form a 
junction. This western branch is called Stillwater, and the first 
Island it embraces after the divorce is Osson Island, of 1,200 
acres ; it then has intercourse with the east branch by a south- 
westerly reach, three miles in length, which separates that island 
from Marsh Island, containing 5,000 acres ; apd from this reach 
a passage bounds the southeast end of Osson Island and separates 
it from Oldtown Island, of 300 acres, where the Indian village 
is. Besides these three, the Stillwater river also embraces 
another one, called Orono, of 1 50 acres. At the upper and 
lower end of Stillwater river are falls suitable for mill sites ; and 
on the east branch, that is, the main river, there are similar falls, 
viz. at the foot of Oldtown Island and at Great Works, a mile or 
more below ; in each of which the descent may be 20 or 30 feet. 

All four of these Islands are excellent land ; and except 
Marsh Island, which is the southernmost one, they are claimed 
by the Tarratine tribe of Indians. They also own the other 
Islands mentioned, which are of a like fertile soil. 

From the reunion of the Penobscot with the Stillwater at the 
foot of Marsh Island, the river flows southwestwardly three miles 
to the head of the tide, at " the Bend,'''' so called, where its usual 
ebb and flow are two feet. Small vessels may ascend in fresh- 
ets and in spring tides, within a mile of it, but ship-navigation is 
not good and safe much above Kenduskeag point, four miles 
below the Bend. 

The Kenduskeag stream, rises near some of the Sabasticook 



♦Sunkhaze means dead water at the mouth of the stream. — Indian. 



Sect, ii.] of matne. 69 

sources, and after runninc; in its southeasterly serpentine course 
50 miles, and turning the wheels of various mills and machinery, 
it discharges its waters into the Penobscot, amid Bangor village, 
(30 miles from White-head, 23 from Fort point, and 70 from the 
junction. It is generally eight rods wide ; its mouth, which is 
35 rods in breadth, a.id GO rods higher up at the bridge is 30 
rods, forms a branch of the harboiu- : but here the ground, ex- 
cept in the channel, is often bare at low water. Opposite to the 
mouth of the Kenduskeag, the water in the channel of the Pe- 
nobscot is 17 feet when the tide is out, and the width of the 
main river below is 80 rods. 

The Penobscot thence descends in a deep and steady current, Scfrpunke- 
passins; the mouths of Scs'cunkedunk* on the cast side, and Soiva- '"" 
dabscookf on the west shore ; both being mill streams much less c"ok. 
than Kenduskeag, one 3 and the other 5 miles below it ; thence one 
league to Bald hill cove, on the same side ; another to Buck^s J^'i''i ii'H 
ledge, covered at highwater ; and half a mile more, to Oak q^^ •„,_ 
point, where the water is GO rods wide and deep. Between the 
latter and Dram j^oinf, wjiich aro a league asunder, is J^Iarsh hay ■yj^pji, ^^,.^ 
which is more than a mile wide, ornamented by the village of 
Frankfort on the western shore. Here the water is very salt 
and the river seldom is frozen as low as Buck^s Icdtre. Indeed 
during some winters it continues open as high as the mouth of 
the Sowadabscook. 

It is about 5 miles from Dram point to the head of Orphan Orphan 
Island, which contains 5000 acres or more, and divides the wa- 
ters of the river into two branches ; the western and main one 
passes through the narroivs, opposite the northwest curve of the ^t ^ 
Island, and by Oldham'' s ledge, which is half a league below, and oidimms 
a league above Fort point, at the mouth of the river. The ''''^'" 
branch which washes the other side of the Island is called East- 
ern river, safely navigable for small vessels ; — the Island itself, rncr. 
taxed in Bucksport, is good land and is owned by die descend- 
ants of an orphan lady, who inherited a part of the Waldo pa- 
tent. 

* This is a fine mill stream running' through Brewer village, named hj 
tlie Indiuus " Sf^-eunAcJim/r."— MS. Letter of Hon. D. Perham. 

I Called, b)' way of corruption of the Indian name, " Sowcsdahscoo/c ;"' 
Ibis is in Hampden, — More properly spelt " Sowadapscoo.^^ — Gen. Her- 
rick. 



70 THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

ThePenob. The general breadth of the Penobscot is from 80 to 100 rods } 

8COl in gen- n.. i ^ i ^ ■ ^ 

erai. and It IS remarkable, that owmg to absorption and evaporation 

it should be so uniformly wide from Piscataquis to Orphan Island ; 
though its depths are various, being above the tidewaters from 
six to twelve feet, not easily fordable by a man and horse beloAv 
the junction. The usual tides at and below Bangor are 15 feet ; 
and at low-water its depth in the channel is from 3 to 6 fathoms ; 
and in some places 20. The banks of the river are generally 
high ; some projections are rocky and rugged ; and others afford 
a picturesque appearance. An enchanting expanse of the river 
spreads itself before Bucksport village, and another before Frank- 
fort ; and a beautiful country on either side, extending to the 
head of the tide, fills the passenger's eye from the river with cap- 
tivating views of nature and culture. As we ascend the river 
we find the banks less elevated ; and above the tide-waters we 
pass many extensive intervales before we reach the Piscataquis. 
The only fearful ledges below the head of navigation are Buck's 
and Oldham's, before mentioned : and Fort point ledge, half a 
mile from the point, and SteeU^i led^e, a league southeast, cov- 
ered at high water. 

Frozen 4 1-2 -^^ and above Bangor, and below it as far as the water is fresh, 

mouths. ^jjg j.|^gj. jg generally closed by ice from the middle of December 
to the fore part of April. However, the ice in 1800 did not 
descend till the 18th of April; and on the 1st of January, 1805, 
the river, after being closed three weeks, was clear for two days; 
and it may be mentioned as a rare instance, that on the 26th ot 
March, 1811, the river was clear of ice and frozen no more 

^.reai le* " ^j^.j^-jg ^j^g spring. Moreover, in February, 1807, the ice, which 
was very thick and strong, being broken up by an uncommon 
freshet on the 1 7th of the month, was driven down in great cakes ; 
and, 100 rods below Bangor village, formed an immoveable im- 
pediment to the current. By reason of this check, the waters 
rose from 10 to 12 feet higher than was before known, filled the 
lower apartments of several buildings, and destroyed and injured, 
a great quantity of goods ; forcing the inhabitants of one dweUing- 
house to make their escape from the chamber windows. Three 
days elapsed before the ice fully gave way and the flood subsided. 

Head of Pe- At the foot of Orphan Island, the Penobscot expands, so that 

1^ ■ the distance across from Fort point to the eastern shore is two 

miles or more j and this is the head of the bay. The next noted 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 71 

place on the eastern shore, is Major-higyduce point, 1 5 miles M»jor-bigjr- 
below Orphan Island, a place repeatedly mentioned in history.* 
It took its name from a Frenchman who anciently lived there. f 
That point is' the southerly projection of the peninsula, which 
constitutes the greatest part of the town of Castinc. On the 
north it has Back cove ; north of west, it has Penobscot bay, two 
leagues over, with Belfast hay another league on the west, adorned 
by the village of Belfast ; on the southwest it has the ujiper end 
of Long Island, two miles distant, and at the eastward it has 
JVorthern bay. It has always been considered by Europeans as 
well as by the Americans and natives, to be a very eligible situa- 
tion. Castine villagej is on the southerly side of the peninsula ; Casiine. 
and westward of it 100 rods, at some distance from the shore, 
are the appearances of the Old fortifications. Here the Ply- OIJ fori, 
mouth colony had a trading house as early as A. D. 1 G26 ; here 
d'Aulney located himself in 1640 ; and here baron de Castine D'Auiney. 
afterwards had his residence many years. The United States' Unijed 
garrison is still farther to the west and on higher land, intended rij.'u^'' ^^'^' 
to protect the town and command the upper section of Penobscot 
bay. 

Before we iirocced to examine the eastern seaboard, it becomes 'si.ands in 

' _ _ l'<llol)SCOl 

expedient to make a few remarks relative to the Islands in Pe-'-ay. 

nobscot bay. We begin with Long Island [now a part of Isles- i-on^ 

borough] which is 11 and l-4th miles in length and about one 

mile in mean width. There is a fresh-water pond on the north 

part of the Island, at the outlet of which stand mills ; and the soil 

of the whole Island is generally good. It has five good harbours, 

3 on the western and 2 on the eastern shore. § Included also in 

the corporation of Islesborough, are these; — 1. Seven hundred ~(^ ^^^^ 

acre Island, "of very good land," so called from the quantum of ''''*"''• 

its territory ; — 2. Billy Job's Island; — 3. MarshaWs or Pen- ^^'".v Job's, 

dleton's Island: — 4. XfOssc//'^ /s/anc?, which four are inhabited ;, ,. „ ' 

' ' ' Lasstll s, 

some of them are well cultivated and make good farms. They 
all lie near the western shore of Long Island, and " form several 



* Tlic country bcreabouts called Norumbcga. — 1 IIol. A. a. 74, Note 4. 

fMS. IiCttcr of Col. Wardwcll, and certificate of Capt. IVIanse!. 

I In 44° 24' N. Lat. and 6S° 4G' west Lon^. 

5 f.'i/A'fj/'jf liarboiir, 5 miles below the north end of the Island; PendU- 
li'Ti's still below, bolli on the west side. 



72 



Mark, 

Saddle, 

Lime, 

Ensign, 

Mouse, 

Spruce, 

Islands. 

Tslesbo- 
rougli. 

Fox Islands 
or Vinallia- 
ven. 



Fox Island 
thorough- 
fare. 



The soulh 
Island. 



The north 
island. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

excellent harbours much frequented by vessels." In addition to 
these, we may mention — 5. Mark Island, of 10 acres; — 6. 
Saddle Island ; — 7. Lime Island ; — 8. Ensign Island ; — 9 and 
10. the two Mouse Islands ; — 1 1. Spruce Island — all which lie S. 
W. and W. of the main Island ; and tliere are three others farther 
up the bay which are small. The " number of acres in the town 
is about 6,000," originally a part of the Waldo patent.* 

Fox Islands, south of Long Island, are separated from it by a 
branch of Penobscot bay, about two leagues across, and constitute 
the town of J^inalhaven. From its western point, called Crab- 
tree's point, N. N. E. to Castine, is a course of 15 miles, in so 
good a channel that a stranger may conduct a ship through it 
without danger. 

These Islands took their name from the circumstance of their 
abounding in Foxes when first discovered, particularly the silver 
grey fox, seldom found at this day in any part of the State. 
The two principal Islands, so called, are denominated the north 
and south Fox Islands; separated by a thoroughfare, which 
may average near a mile in width, affording a good ship channel of 
12 feet tide and an excellent harbour; and is beautified by a small 
village on each side of the narrows.-}- These Islands have very 
curiously indented shores on all sides ; which give them quite a 
pecuHarity of shapes. They are bounded or washed westerly and 
northerly by Penobscot bay ; easterly by Fox Island bay which 
separates them from the Isle-au-Haut and Deer Isle, and southerly 
by the Atlantic. Vinalhaven not only embraces these two great 
Islands but includes all such as are smaller, lying within three 
miles of them, too numerous and little to be particularized. The 
area of the two Great Islands, with the others inclusive, is 
1 6,527 acres. 

On the south Island, which is much the larger, are two consider- 
able ponds and several others which are small ; and at the outlets 
of the former are mill-privileges. Much of this Island however 
is hilly, rocky and barren ; but it has a valuable growth of spruce 
for spars, a fine harbour, and an advantageous herring fishery. 
The north Island has one pond of 100 acres ; and a much better 
soil than that of the other, being a reddish gravel ; which is very 



* MS. Letter of Migbill Parker, Esq. 

I The passag-e has rocks on both sides ; especially Crabtree point, on the 
northward. 



Sect. ii.J OF MAINE. 73 

productive. In 1779 the British built a fort on this Island, plun- 
dered tlic people and drove them away.* The nicctins; of the 
waters in the thoroughfare, from the E .i\. E. and W. S. W. when 
the tide is of flood, forms a " deep cove" and eddy which exhib- 
its a giddy sweep or whirl as the waters embrace and settle. It 
is more than two leagues through the thoroughfare ; the western 
entrance at Young's point is narrow at low water, and dangerous 
by reason of sunken rocks on the larboard, called the DumpJins. Dumpiim. 

The Castine Peninsula is washed on its eastern margin by the 
waters of the nortliern bay or Castine river, which is formed by cosiinc riv- 
two wide though short branches, of which one heads in the town ^'^' 
of Penobscot northerly ; and the other in Sedgwick runs north- 
westerly ten miles, when they form a junction two leagues from 
their common and single mouth. Thus united, the river has ten 
feet tide, and is navigable four miles to Limcburner's ferry, where 
it is half a mile in width. 

THE EASTERN COAST. 

In passing to the southward two leagues from Castine village, we Eastern 
double Cape Rosicr-\ or Rosaric, in the town of Brookville. c.ipe Rosa- 
This has a bold shore and high projecting rocks. Between this 
and the north Fo.\ Island, southerly about nine miles distant, are 
several Islands ; viz. Butter and Ea";le Islands, each a mile Hiuter, 
square, four miles from Vinalhaveii towards Brookville, owned by MomJs. 
William Gray, so fertile as to support nineteen inhabitants. Great \.e.>ti. 
and Little Spruce head, and Beech Island, owned by individuals, |v|;miH. 
contain 27 inhabitants. The others are Spectacle Island, one t'iiu'ii^kIp, 
mile from Cape Rosier ; TLumpcap, two miles from it; Jliar^• i .''l-s head 
Island of two acres, 3 leagues from Castine ; ColVs head ; Pond {'',!,' |.';, 
Island ; Green Ledge ; and Pompkin Island, which arc small |^' po,ppti„ 
and uninhabited. i^iui.ds. 

" Little Deer /a7c" is situated northwest of Great Deer Isle, '-im.- Deer 
southeasterly of Cape Rosier, and south oi Edgemaroggan reach, 
which is three miles wide and separates the latter Isle from Sedg- 
wick. It contains 1,000 acres of good soil, supporting a consid- 
erable number of inhabitants. 

* MS. Letter of Tliomas Waterman, Esq. 

jFrom Mr. Kosier, probably, who came along with Capt. Weymouth, A. 
D. ICOo.— //u6. N. K. 14. 

Vol. I. 6 



74 



THE WATERS AND COAST 



[Introduc. 



Groat Deer 
l.land. 



Isle of Holl. 



Town of 
Deer Isle. 



Eastern ami 
western liiii- 
i(s of Penol)- 
seot Bay. 



Edgema- 

rofigan 
reach. 



Conaway 
Island. 



Between that Island and the Isle of Holt is Great Deer Isle, 
about ten miles in length from north to south, and near five miles 
in width towards the upper and lower ends. It has Edgema- 
roggan reach on the northeast, which separates it from the main ; 
and the east branch of Penobscot bay on the west, in a width of 
two leagues intervening between the above Isle and the Fox 
Islands. 

The Isle-au-haut, or " Isle of Holt," which has a good soil, is 
one league directly south of Great Deer Isle, and is supposed 
to contain about 3,500 acres and 75 families. It is favoured with 
one rivulet. It has generally a bold shore, high steep cliffs ; and 
between the beach at its northwest part, and an Island near, there 
is a good harbour ; — also another open to the south, between 
the southeast and southwest extremities of the Island. The 
highest part of its territory is in the middle of it, and exhibits the 
appearance of a saddle. It affords good landing at its eastern 
end, and anchorage half a mile off in 18 fathoms. 

Great and Little Deer Isle and the Isle of Holt constitute the 
town of Deer Isle, which contains 14,320 acres of land and 225 
dwellinghouses, and probably includes other little Islands lying 
between the others. 

The Isle of Holt and White-head, which are six leagues asun- 
der, are the eastern and western limits of Penobscot hay. Its 
width is not so great as that of Casco bay, nor does it embrace 
so great a number of Islands; but it is much deeper, being 11 
leagues in extent from north to south ; and embosoms much 
larger Islands, stretching around them in a manner unique and 
like a crescent. A perspective view of this bay from the heights 
of Camden, so indented on its shores and diversified with Islands, 
is said to be admirable. 

Edgemaroggan reach,* which has a sufficient depth of water 
in its channel to float a ship of 74 guns, is from one mile to three 
in width, and about 1 3 miles long, from its northerly entrance 
between Brookville and the northwest end of Little Deer Isle, to 
the southeast extremity of Sedgwick ; and has good anchorage 
on that as well as the Deer Isle side. South of the eastern en- 
trance of the reach, opposite, eastwardly to Great Deer Isle and 
separate by shoal water, is Conaway Island, of 100 acres, sup- 



* Pronounced — Edg'cmorgTin. 



Sect, ii.] of .mainf:. ITS 

posed to belong; to tlic town of Deer Isle. It has a bold shore, 
a good soil and several families. 

Near the southeast point of Sedgwick, called J\'aske.ag, is a NiisLcag. 
good harbour of the same name, about which the first settle- 
ments were made in Sedgwick, formerly Naskeag plantation, 
eligibly situated for fishery.* The harbour is between the pouit 
and Harbour Island, of 25 acres, close aboard ; having Hog Man.i. 
Island farther distant, both of which are inhabited. The course 
from Naskeag point to the Fox Islands is near to Deer Isle, 
leaving 20 or 30 Islands towards the Isle of Holt, many of which 
arc inhabited.! 

From Naskeag point, east of south. Is Swan Island or Burnt- „ . 
coat, distant four miles. It is of an irregular shape with many 
indents of water, and in general its shore is ledgy and forbid- 
ding. But a large cove makes up into it on its western side, 
about midway of it, and forms a good harbour. There is another 
good one in the creek at the southwesterly part of the Island, 
where Mr. Swan lived. He, finding the soil to be excellent, 
purchased the whole Island, embracing 1000 acres, built an ele- 
gant house, about thirty years ago, bought cattle, and with much 
emulation, connncnced farming on a large scale. Discouraged, 
however, or displeased after five or six years, he left the Island ; 
the house decayed and it has since been taken down. There 
are now on the Island about 30 flourishing families. 

Between Naskeag point and Swan Island, are three others, 
viz. Pond Island of 150 acres : Calf Island of 125 acres: and •'"'"'' 

("a If, 

Little Black Island of 100 acres; all of which have a good soil '-'"''• *''ac'' 
and are inliabitcd. Of the three. Pond Island is the most north- 
erly one, and the main channel is between that and Naskeag 
point, 

* MS. Letters of D. Morjjan and W. Jackson, Esqrs. " Tlie middle of 
Sedgwick is iu N. Lat. 4-1° 25', Lonj. 63" 40' west; and 121 miles from 
PorlianJ Lighthouse, and 133 miles from Passamaqiioddy bay on a blraight 
line." 

I Of a few Islands on this Eastern Coast, a census of 1820 is returned, 
viz. — 10 souls on Pond Island ; 9 on Black Island ; 19 on Lonp Island ; 39 
on Placentia Island ; 21S on Burnt-coat; 7 on MarslialTs Island; 7 on 
Mark Island; 5 on Hog Island; 8 on Beach Island; 19 on Little and 
Great Spruce Islands ; 8 on Eagle Island, and 11 on Butter Island. — See 
census, 1820. 



76 

Marshall's 
Island. 



Lonff 
Islntid 
off Burnt- 
coat. 



Bluehill 
batyt 



Lonf 
Island. 



Robinson's, 

Bear 

Islands. 



Fly, 

Ship and 
Barge 
Islands. 



Morgan's 
bay. 



Newbury 
neck. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [IntrODUC. 

Marshall's Island lies southwestwardly of Swan Island. It 
has a rich loamy soil, is mostly cleared and is the residence of a 
few families. But it has no harbour ; the main channel is on the 
west side of the Island, though it has a difficult one on the east 
side, embayed with ledges. Indeed, the shore is bold and rocky, 
against which vessels have not unfrequently been driven and 
sometimes wrecked. 

Directly east of Marshall's Island, two leagues, and also two 
miles southeast of Swan Island, is what is called " Long Island 
off Burnt-coat,''^ which is near three miles in length, though it 
contains only about 5 or 600 acres : The soil is good ; it has a 
bold shore on the eastern side and a good harbour opposite its 
northwest part. Some 15 or 20 families live upon the Island 
who carry on a considerable fishery. There are some other 
Islands about Swan Island which are too small to be described. 

The entrance into Bluehill hay, is on both sides of Swan Island, 
which lies in the very mouth of the bay ; though the usual pas- 
sage is eastward of the Island. The bay, which has Naskeag 
point on the west, and Mount Desert on the east, extends up 
northwestwardly fifteen miles from the Island to the village of 
Bluehill. 

Long Island, in this bay, extends nearly to its head on its 
easterly side, and is such in length as well as name ; for it is 
about 6 miles long and quite narrow. It may contain 2000 
acres, and be inhabhed by 10 families. It has no harbour ; the 
good and the poor land is about in equal moieties, and the Island 
is owned by Peters and Ellis. South of Long Island are Rob- 
inson''s Island of about 350 acres, and three families, and Bear 
Island of 60 acres. 

After passing Naskeag point, northward, Fly Island is left on 
the western side, also the " Ship,''^ an Island of three trees, and 
the " Barge,'''' a dry rock, looking like a boat of that name. 
The waters northwardly of Long Island, are called Morgan^s 
bay, the head of which is shoal water ; and the promontory be- 
tween it and the mouth of Union river has the name of Kewbury 
neck, [in Surry,] steep on the east side, and on the west inclining 
to a flat. The channel on the east side of Long Island, from 
the sea to the mouth of the river, is sufficiently wide and deep to 
render the navigation of large vessels safe and commodious. 



Sect, ri.] or aiAiNK. ft 

Below the mouth of the river and two miles east of Lone BBrtini'i 
Island, is BartlctCs Island of 600 acres, half of which is very 
good for farming and the rest rocky. It is inhabited by 8 fami- 
lies ; and they have, about the middle of the Island, on the east 
side, a good harbour. Soutli of this is Hardwood Island oi^^^^f^'^^'^ 
200 acres ; most of which is covered with wood, though it is of 
an excellent soil, and exhibits one dwellinghouse. The passage 
for vessels is good on both of its sides. 

Union river, whose head is near the Passadumkeag and more 
1 ._ ., , - . ., . ,. Unionriver. 

tlian 40 miles north of its tide-waters, is a very commodious 

stream for mills. At the head of the tide, which is ten miles 

above Newbury necic, there are several mills ; also the flourishing 

villages of Ellsworth and Surry, which are connected by a bridge 

across the river, 25 rods in length. In proceeding from this to the 

sea, the passage is between Long and Bartlett's Islands. 

Eastward ly, contiguous to the waters of Union river, is the 

Island of Mount Desert,* 15 miles long; from north to south, and JJ"""'* 

' ~ ' Desert. 

about seven miles in mean width. It has on its northern curve, 
Jordan river, which is almost wholly salt water, navigable on the 
tide three miles to its head in Trenton. Branching east, it dis- 
charges itself into Frenchman's bay, at the southeast extremity of 
Trenton, called Trenton point ; and west, it mixes with the waters 
of Union river, after passing JSIount Desert narrows, which are 

. . » Narrow*. 

only 20 rods across at highwater, where the usual tides are 12 feet, 
and the place fordablc at low water. Tiie southwest extremity 
of Trenton is called Oak point, opposite to the narrows. Oak-pomt. 

At the south end of Mount Desert Island, west of the point, is 
the celebrated Bass harbour, formed by a cove, landlocked by ^ass har- 
two projections or points, eastwardly and westwardly, and shel- '^°'"'- 
tered on the south by three Islands. One is Great Presench or f;rp.^, ^^A 
Black Island, south of the harbour and the most remote of the ][',".','" j^C"' 
three ; Little Presench, northwest of the other and near the ^"''*- 
entrance of the harbour, each of 5 or GOO acres ; and GoCs f;„,., j^i. 
Island of 300 acres, northeastwardly of the preceding two ; and ^"''" 
the three have severally three or four families. 

Somes' sound, is the water southeast of Bass harbour, stretch- somet' 
ing up north into the heart of the whole Island, navigable into **'"" ' 

* Mount Desert rock is 6 Icag-ues S. of Mount Desert Hills; hero tha 
lido of flood sets \V. S. W. 



78 



Great and 

Little Ciaa 

hrrry 

Island. 



Laiiraster's 

Duck 

Islands. 



The pool. 

Bakei- 
Lighllioiiso 



Harbour 
Island. 



Skilliiig's 
river. 



(^'rahtree's 
iivck. 



Mnnnl De- 
seit Island. 



THE WATERS AND COAST [InTRODUC. 

land more than a league. It took its name from Abraham Somes, 
the first American settler, who commenced a plantation near its 
head ; — it is sometimes called Mount Desert sound. At the en- 
trance into the sound are several Islands, viz. Great Cranberry 
Island, of 500 acres, inhabited by 6 or 7 families. Northeast of 
this, i^ Little Cranberry Island, of 200 acres, having three fami- 
lies ; nearer the land, west of north, is La7icaster^s Island, of 100 
acres, peopled by two i\mii]ies ; and the eastern channel into the 
sound is between the two latter. East of Great Cranberry Island 
is Duck Island, of 50 acres, and one family. 

The harbour, situate between the head of the sound, Great 
Cranberry and Lancaster's Islands, is called the Pool, and affords 
excellent anchorage. Five miles southeasterly of the Pool is 
Baker Island, on which there is a Lighthouse. 

From the pool, the shore is bold around on the margin of 
Frenchman's bay, to the northeast indent of the Island or creek, 
3 miles in extent, where there is a small harbour, and a little 
Island called Harbour Island, and the village of Eden. The 
water stretcliing up into Trenton from Sullivan, northwest from 
the head of Frenchman's bay, is Skillings^ river, navigable near- 
ly to its head at highwater. The point of land in Sullivan, east 
of that river's mouth, is Crabtree's JVecIc. 

The Island of Mount Desert* is the largest one in" the State, 
and contains about 60,000 acres, a third part of which is eleva- 
ted into thirteen connected, high and rugged mountains, covered 
with woods : and at sea they may be seen the distance of twenty 
leagues, and are remarkable for being the first landmark of sea- 
men and for giving the French name Mons Deserts to the Island. 
The savages were much attached to this Island ; for in the moun- 
tains they hunted bears, wild cats, racoons, foxes and fowls ; in 
the mar.shes and natural meadows, beaver, otter and musquash ; 
and in the waters they took fin and shellfish. The alewives in 
the spring ascended into the interiour ponds to cast their spawn, 
where they were easily taken ; and though the hills are hard and 
rocky, the vallies are rich, strong land, and have borne a heavy 
hardwood growth. The smaller Islands and some parts of Mount 



* In going- from Mount Desert to Goiildsboroug'h, steer E. 1-2 N. for 
Slialtorlv point, 4 loag-ues ; there are 5 liiils on Sliattock remarkable in 
tlioif appearance — and at a distance round, Sliattock point forms tlie eastern 
and Mount Desert Uic weskm extreme of Frcncl]man"s Bay, 



Sect, ii.] OF Maine. 79 

Desert, abound in excellent cranberries.* About tlie pool, on 
the west side of Somes' sound, are the appearances of old settle- 
ments : Here it is supposed the French Missionaries, Biard and rrp„ri) Mi»- 
Masse, located themselves in 1G09; though it may be, they were ]j",j'r^[',!,','j 
at the nordieast harbour, where they were afterwards carried by '^'"='*''- 
Suassayc under the auspices of Madam Gucrcheville. It is said 
there appears to have been an old French settlement at Trenton 
point, where Madam Deville has lived. 

Frenchman's bay is generally two leagues in width and four rrench- 
leagucs in length. This bay acquired its name from a peculiar 
incident.! In the spring of 1G04, after De ISIonts left his win- 
ter's encampments at the Island St. Croix, he and his company, 
among whom was Nicholas d'Aubri, a French Ecclesiastic, sailed 
westward ; and somewhere, probably between the Union and 
IVarraguagus rivers, d'Aubri, to gratify curiosity in a ramble upon 
the coast and in a view of the country — was set ashore. Wan- 
dering too far, he was lost in the woods, and the boatsmen were 
necessitated to leave him. For three weeks he suffered very 
terrible apprehensions and extreme want ; and when almost in 
despair, the people of the same vessel in touching at some place 
in the vicinity, providentially found him and restored him to his 
companions. Interested and pleased with this story, which gave 
to these waters the name of Frenchman's bay, Mons. Cadillac 
obtained of Lewis XIV. in April 1691, a large tract of land lying 
on this bay, and also a large Island opposite, supposed to be 
within the region of Acadie. This grant was evidently made, 
to confirm possession ; and tiiese circumstances attracted the 
attention of the French Jesuits and others to this particular 
section of the country : " For there were anciently many French 
settlements on that part of the bay which is opposite to the banks 
of Mount Desert, as well as on the Island itsclf."J IMudame de 
Gregoire proved herself to be the lineal descendant of Monsieur 
Cadillac, and in 1787 acquired a partial confirmation of the origi- 
nal grant. § 

* MS. Letters of Davis Wasjatt, David Rieliurdson, and NicliolasTliom- 
as, Esqrs. 

t Abbe Raynal, V. 560—02 Translated. J Sullivan's Hist. 56— r)9. 

5 Sec Resolves of General Court, July 6, and November 23, 17S7. — Mrs. 
Greg-oire was g-randaiigliter of Mons. de la Motte Cadillac. — See post. »i, 
D. 1785. 



80 



Flander's 
bay. 

Trenlon 
Narrows* 



THE WATERS AND COAST 



Clam-shells. 



Islands.'' 
'J'iiomas', 
m.iyo's, 
4 Porcu- 
pine's, 
Wheek-r's, 
IJuriil, 
Sliepp and 
Great. 
Bean's, 
In^all's, 
Prcl)lf!'s, 
Rrngdou's, 
IVnn's, 
yinipsou's, 
mid Ashes 
Islands. 
Bar Island. 
Tliiiin(>c;ii). 
Slave, 
Bear. 



[Introduc. 

At the head of Frenchman's bay, is the town of Sulhvan : and 
Flanders'' b^ty, is on the northeast side, next to the northwest part 
of Gouldsborough* Between SkilHngs' river and Flanders' bay, 
is Trenton bay ; and two miles above its mouth, are the JVar- 
roivs of only 600 feet in width. Above them the bay is seven 
miles long, and from half a mile to a mile in breadth. When the 
tide floods, the water is forced through the narrows \Yith great 
impetuosity and raises the upper bay eight or ten feet. As the 
water below ebbs out much faster than the incumbent water can 
escape tlirough the narrows, a fall of ten feet is formed, where 
the water pours down, and being salt, fills the eddy below with 
surges of white foam for the space of 12 or 15 rods. Twice in 
every twenty-four hours this natural curiosity makes its displays 
much to the amusement of the beholder. A toll-bridge, lately 
erected by Col. Sargent across these waters in Sullivan, gives to 
the place additional variety and beauty.* 

On several projections of land hereabouts, are beds of clam- 
shells, from one to two acres in extent, and in some places near 
two feet deep. So long have they been on the ground, that strata 
of earth have covered them ; and a heavy growth of trees was 
found upon them even by the first settlers. In one of the neigh- 
bouring Islands, the shells are six feet thick ; and there is remain- 
ing a stump of a large tree which, though felled half a century 
ago, must, from evident appearances, have grown since the stra- 
tum of shells was formed or deposited there. f 

The Islands to be mentioned, as found in this quarter, are 
Thomas^ and Mayors Jslands, the four Porcupines, viz. Wheel- 
er^s, Burnt, Sheep and Great Porcupines. Here cod, haddock, 
pollock and halibut, are taken plentifully ; and on the shores, 
clams, muscles, and other shellfish. Within the bounds of Sul- 
livan are 7 Islands, viz. Beanos, IngaWs, PrehWs, Bragdon^s, 
Deane's, Simpson''s, and Ashe's Islands. More remote, and dis- 
tant 8 or 9 miles, are Bar Island and Timmpcap, in the vicinity 
of the Porcupines, which are high Islands. Near Gouldsborough 
is Stave Island ; about midway of Frenchman's bay is Bear 
Island, and another south, inhabited by three families. 



* But it lias been carried away and not rebuilt. 

I IMS. lictler of A. Jchnson, Esq. IMonlton's is a bad ledg'c, |soiith of 
Gou'dsborough 1. arbour. 



Sect, ii.] of malne. 81 

The greater pari of Gouldsborough - Is a jjcninsula ; on tlie (Sotiid$boro' 
west of which is Frazier^s point, between which and Schoodic ih.hu. 
point and tiic southwest extremity of the pcninsida, is JSlusqueto iiurbour. 
harljour, having good bottom, and sheltered on the southwest by 
Schoodic Island, whicli is small and without inhabitant. Five inland, 
miles northeast of Schoodic point is a little cove, which makes „ 

' ' Pro«prcl &. 

Prospect harbovr,\ and nearly east, is Indian harbour. IimIi.ui iiar- 

Gouldsborough river, which is salt water, is about 3 leagues in 
leneth, and is navigable six miles to its branches, which spread 9""'^*''°''°' 

. . ... river. 

and end not unlike fork tines, exhibiting the village between them, 
mostly on the west fork. Here the usual tides ebb and flow 12 
feet. 

Dyer's hay, six miles long and one mile wide, is in Steuben, Dyer's boy. 
and is navigable on the tide to its head. The point east of it is 
Petitmenan point, southeast of wiiicli, two miles, is tl.c Island r.iiimenaQ 
of that name, containing 25 acres. In 1817 it was ceded to tiie '"'" ' 
United States, and that government erected a Lighthouse'^ on it Ugiuhouse. 
at the cost of ^'5,045. Ships pass both withinside and outside of 
Petitmenan Island, though there is a bar between it and liie main 
land. 

North of tiie preceding is Boubcar Island, quite narrow, ,, 
though nearly a league in length. It is close to the Steuben l*'""''- 
shore in Pidgeon hill bay ; containing about 300 acres of indif- 
ferent soil, though inhabited by 4 families. 

7^Wo-co« At// Ziflw on the west, and Pleasant bay on the east, n • uu 

■^ _ . Piosfoii hill 

are contiguous and mix waters ; and the distance across both, "'"' ''''■*''"'" 
from Bowbear Island to Cape Split, is three leagues. The for- 
mer receives the waters of the jXarraguagus river, after a grad- >;arrpeua'' 
ual descent of 40 miles from its sources. It is only a mill stream ^"'^ "'"'^' 
till it meets the tide and is enlarged and assisted by its waters. 
It is then navigable five miles from its mouth to the village and 
lower mills, in a good channel. Cape Split has a good harbour. 
Between tlie mouth of this and that of Pleasant river, which 



*Gouldsborougb harbour is N. IV. W. from Petitmenan Li£ht2 leagues, 
t If yon fall in with Shatluck Island give it a good birth and steer .\. N. 
E. into Trospect harbour. 

I It is " stone building 25 feet l.igli, has a fixed light, forir ed ui lamps 53 
feet abuve the level of the sea. Pass on the west side into Dyei's bay, 
imd givB the light a good birth, leave a dry ledge on your lai board. 



82 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

Pleasant are two leagues apart, is J\'arraguagus hay, stretching up seven 
NariajTua- milcs into Harrington, which affords good navigation and good 
harbours ; having branches or salt water streams flowing into it, 
upon Vv'hich tide mills are advantageously situated. Pleasant 
river empties itself at the head of Pleasant bay ; its fresh water 
part is short and small ; but the residue of its run, being about 
ten miles, is commodious. At the head of the tide about four 
leagues from the bay, it is divided by a fertile and inviting Island, 
almost in the shape of a pendant, being about three miles in length 
and nearly two in its greatest width. Although the channels on 
each side are narrow, yet the beds of them are so soft, level and 
smooth, as to render the navigation safe and convenient nearly to 
the head of the Island. The soil here is fertile, the banks low, 
the village flourishing, and the situation and beauty of the country, 
emphatically such as to entitle it all to the name the river bears.* 
Cape S Pit Cape Split is the point at the southwest extreme of the town 
of Addison, as we enter Pleasant bay from the east ; and is 
Moose- eck ^^^^' ^ league north of the western entrance into Moose-peck 
J^^'jJ'; , reach.\ Between that point and Tihbets^ jjoint, a little farther 
point. gjjgj-^ jg a good harbour. The reach has Addison and Jones- 
Beai's borough on the north ; and on the south BeaVs Island of 1000 
''^" ■ acres of good land and 10 families. J Its margin is ledgy, though 
it has one harbour on the north side, east of Indian river. The 
Island at the mouth of that little river, is encircled with naviga- 
ble tide-waters on all its sides. Below the east entrance of the 
Head har- reach, is Head Harbour Island, containing 300 acres of poor 

hour Island. <--ii i-ii -ii 

land, with one famuy ; between which, on the southwest side, and 
Tiryer's isl- Bryer^s Island, is a good harbour. 
Rojsue's Isl- Ros^ice^s Island is N. N. E. from Head harbour, in Eng-lish- 



aiul 



■g «,& O i>JM*.KX t.:, XI. J.-.. .— .. .l^lii iiV^U.^, XlWll^Vy..!., .1. -^"Q' 



Eiiffiixh- man'shay: it contains 500 acres of good land, inhabited by three 
or four families. It has a very broken shore and its harbour is 
formed by an indent of water about midway of the Island on the 
southerly side. Near Rogue's Island southerly are others, called 

Virgin's the Virs:in''s Breasts. Chandler''s river, which empties itself into 

Breasts. '^ _J 

* Shattuck hills are back of Harring-ton. 

f Moose-peck or " Mispccky"" Lighthouse is on Ship Harbour Island, with 
a revolving light. 

I Southwesterly of Bcal's Island are 8 or 10 small Islands not far distant, 
which arc uninhabited. 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 83 

the head of the bay, is a small mill stream : vet vessels ascend CbnnHicr*« 

^ river. 

to its month and take cargoes. 

Bucfc\<i hnrbovr, thou£:;h small, is a noted one, bcinc; easy of '^'"-lis imr- 
access from the sea. It is a cove on the cast side of the point 
which is the western limit of IMachias bay. The salt water river, 
west of that point, is navia;ablc and pleasant, its banks being or- 
namented with handsome dwellin2;houses on both sides. 

Sonthwestcrlv of IJuck's harbour are several Islands, viz. Fos- Fos.n's l>j- 

niiil. 

ters Island and the two Libby Islands.* Upon the outer one of i.ii.hy 

Ligliiliouse. 

the latter two, is the Lisrhihouse. 

jSIachias bay is about two leagues in breadth at its mouth, and Mnciiias 
seven miles in length. At its northwest corner it receives the 
waters of East and West Machias rivers, three miles below where 
they form a junction, and two miles below where they pass the 
narrows. 

The length of JVcst Machias river, m its meandering south- ^^>Rt..^^a- 
eastcrlv course, is about fifty miles. The tide Hows five miles 
above the junction to the bridge, the village and the landings, 
where are the public buildings. In this branch the navigation for 
small vessels is good. 

East-Machias river is not so long as the other, though quite as ^[j^'^ ^1"' ^ 
large. It is navigable only about two miles from the junction to 
the falls, bridge, mills and village : — the falls here being from 15 
lo 20 feet. 

One mile below the junction, arc the Aarrojcs, 50 rods across ; Narrows. 

to which a ship of the line might ascend, in a channel of six 

fathoms of water, with safety. South of tlie narrows, the shores 

arc bold; die tide flows 15 feet; and it is supposed, where the 

wharves now are, stood the A''cw-Plijmouth trading house. 

There are two Cross Islands lying at the east entrance of Ma- STioss Isl- 
ands, 
chias bay ; Great Cross Island contains about G or 700 acres of 

pretty good land ; tliough neither of them is inhabited. 

East of Cross Island is Little Alachias bay, which extends i,;,,!,. .v^. 

nearly a league into the land and has a depth from two to six '^ "'** ''-' 

fathoms at low water. It is inhabited on both sides. Also Little 

river harbour, two miles still farther cast, is a good one, enlivened 

by a small contiguous settlement. 

* >'acliias Liflitlioiise stands on Libbj- Island, l}innf on the western en- 
<rniicc to Macliias bay, and is 6.5 feet above (be level of tbc sen and con- 
tains a " revolving- lig^iiL" S^al Islands are due S. K. from Macliius, 



84 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntrODUC. 

Liiiie river- The coast from Little river to West-^uoddy-head, five leagues, 
exhibits a very forbiddins; appearance. Except about Moose 

Moose and '' . 

Hayrock harhouT and Haycock harbour, which afford good anchorage, the 

b arbours. , . , _ 

shore is little other than high ranges of a most rugged ledge, a 
league or more in width, against which the waves often break so 
furiously as to throw the water an hundred feet into the air. 
West- fVest-^ Quoddy-head* is an elevated bold promontory, which 

head. forms the southeast corner of Maine and of the United States : — 

the highest part of it is 150 feet. In 1807, 100 acres of the 
projection was ceded to the United States, and the next year a 
Lighthouse, with a lantern of fixed Hght, 90 feet above the level 
of the sea, was erected on the south side, near the centre, at 
highwater mark, which cost the national government $4,966. 
There is also an alarm bell, intended to be rung in foggy weather, 
which will strike 10 times in a minute. 
Campo- North of ^Qiioddy-head, is the south end of Campobellof , which 

is 8 miles in length from northeast to southwest, with an average 
breadth of four miles, tt completely landlocks Lubec and East- 
port from the southeast ; but its local situation renders the west 
entrance into the bay and the harbour of these places crooked, 
and at low-water difficult on account of a bar. 

From the entrance the course is west about two miles, forming 
West-'Quoddy-head into a promontory ; thence north two miles, 
at the end of which is Flagg^s point, whereon is Liihec village, 
poiiii. opposite to the narrows, which are only about 25 rods across from 
lage. that point to Campobello. But as the tide rises here from 24 to 

28 feet, the whole passage is safe and easy at half flood. Four 
miles and an half from Lubec village north, is that of Eastport 
or Moose Island, full in view. J 
The divis- ^^^ ^'"^ between the two governments is thus ; — From the 
jo.ial line, ^arrows, in the middle channel, by Mark Island ; thence in mid- 
water, between Eastport and Indian Island ; thence N. N. W. to 
and in the thread of the St. Croix river, passing between the 



* There are three passages into Passamaquoddy bay, western, middle, or 
ship channel, and eastern: in passing the first, give the sail rocks and 
whirl-pool a birth more than half a mile ; and steer -westward. 

f This Island is an appendage of New-Brunswick. 

J Lubec village is 24 miles from Machias ; 12 from Grandmenan ; 16 from 
Robbinston : 30 from Calais ; and 60 from the city of St. Johns. 



Sect, ii.] of .mai.nk. ^5 

DeviVs head and Oak point* to its source at the Eastern monu- 
ment. 

Between Lubec and Eastport, at the southeast entrance into ^'"I'srook, 

' Allfn's and 

Cobscook bny, are two small Islands, the northcastcrlv one is '^''•'■''* l*'- 
Allcn''s Island, containing 70 acres of c;ood land, and has one 
family ; the other, southwesterly, of 1 5 acres, is called Rice's 
Island, and is uninhabited. At the entrance of the bay, the width 
of water is half a mile ; but on account of shoals and rocks, the 
navigation is difficult. This bay, which lies westward of Moose 
Island, and is about seven miles Ions; from its southern to its north- 
ern entrance, docs on its several sides, project into no less than 
seven branches ; all which are navigable for boats, and the short- 
er branches for small vessels. On the largest one, southwest, is 
situate the village of Orangetown, now lf'/ii(ing, up to which Orsnge- 
boats may float ; on the northwest branch, which receives Den- 
nysville river, is the village a little above its mouth, to which only 
boats can ascend ; and on the branch southeast of Dcnnysville is 
tiie Pcnncmaquam settlement, 4 miles from the ledsc, and west ''*'""'''"'»- 
of the narrows, which are 40 rods wide at the entrance, north of 
Moose Island. 

Of all the Islands described, no one is more noted than Moose ., 
Island, [or Eastport.] It was not only, for many years, a sub- }:'^"''- 
ject of controversy between two nations, being itself most eligibly 
situated ; but it has long been a place of great resort. Its 
greatest length is five miles from N. W. to S. E ; yet it is no 
where two miles in width. Vessels pass on all sides of it. In 
one place towards the northerly end, it is nearly parted asunder 
by the waters on each side, so that at highwater they almost meet. 
Its area is 2,150 acres. The exteriour of the whole Island, at 
the water's edge, is extremely irregular ; and its surface is suf- 
ficiently variegated with swells, hills, and vallies. It is a very 
inviting place for connnerce. The village is southerly of the -n^e ^.iiia„^ 
isthmus, on the eastern shore, pleasantly facing the east. There 
is a regular ascent from the village, half a mile northward, to 
Fort hill, which commands quite an enchantins; prospect. This is 
the site ot the United dtatcs garrison. Ihere is a deep cove 
at the south end of the Island where ships of any size may be 
moored, head and stern, and be safe from all winds. The north 

* MS. Letter of H. G. Balcli, Esq. 



86 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntroDUC. 

extremity of the Island is near the main land, separated only by 
a narrow pass for vessels ; and the mouth of the Schoodic rivei 
is considered to be at the narrows, between this Island and Deer 
Island.* 
MaikPiid Alleii's Island and Rice's Island, before mentioned, also Mark 
uu?ui.k. Island and Rogers^ Island, are all belonging to the town of Lubec. 
But it is to be remarked that Alleii's Islarid is the same as 
Dudley's <' Dudley^ s Island,''^ and Rice's Island the same as Frederick 
ick Islands. Island, and both of them, as well as Moose Island, under the 4th 
article of the Treaty of Ghent, the Commissioners determined, 
November 24th, 1817, to belong to the United States. Dudley 
and Frederick Islands were originally granted by Massachusetts 
to Col. Allen ; and his son's widow and family live on the former, 
the only inhabitants. The latter is owned by Mr. Thayer of 
Liubec.f 
Schoodic The Schoodic\ river, which in its whole length, is the dividing 

line between this State and New-Brunswick, we are next to de- 
scribe ; and we begin with its sources, which, as the river runs, 
are about one hundred miles from its mouth. Its head is seven 
miles above the lakes, at the Eastern Monument ; in which part 
cii.>putnaie- jj jg quite small, and is sometimes called Cheputnatecook. It 
empties itself near the north end of the upper Schoodic lakes, 
which lie in the form of a crescent, 35 miles in extent, with their 
thickest segment northwest. The mean width of the lakes may 
be from one to two miles, though in many places there are very 
narrow passes between the greater or wider bodies of water. 

From the outlet of the upper lake, the general course of the 

river is southeastwardly ; its descent is rapid, its bed and banks 

for the most part rocky, with very few bordering intervales ; and 

its length, to the lower or salt-water falls, is called by travellers 

sixty, some say, seventy miles. In this distance we find several 

Loon's bay. sections of Still water, particidarly two, called Loon^s bay and Por- 

meadow. ^^'''^ mcadoiv. There are also the Great falls, several miles from 

Palls. ^Yie outlet, where the water descends 20 feet in a short distance ; 

* Philip Coombs, Esq. — MS. Letter of Jona. D. Weston, Esq. 

f MS. Letter and ingenious plan of Lorenzo Sabin, Esq. 

J There are three rivers which empty into the Passamaquoddy bay, the 
largest of which is called the Schoodic, [Scatuck — Indian,'] — the lake is 
" where Jisli live all the year,'''' and are often taken ; such as trouts, chopa 
and perch. — But M. de Monls and Champlain, call it " Etechemins.'" 



OF MAINE. 87 

and several other rapids and pilches, so that tliere arc at some 
seasons of the year, no less than seven carrying places between 
llie upper outlet and Calais. 

About 35 miles below the upper outlet, a junction is formed 
between the main river and the west branch, which is made by 
issues of water from the Grand Schoodic lakes, being about a LaUv'^ 
dozen of tlieni in all ; and by this confluence, the river below is 
doubled in the quantum of its water. 

The lower falls are at the head of the tide, to which the river 
descends from the southwest, and thence runs southeast, forming 
almost an isoscles angle. W'ilhin this is the village of Calais, op- 
posite to which, at the point on the north shore, is the parish of 
St. Stephens. The falls arc at JUill town, two nn\cs above Ca /a ts ?,''''"'"": 
villagc, where there are about 20 saws, a grist mill, and other '"e^- 
waterworks in lively operation. Those on the northerly side are 
owned by the British, and those on the other by tlie Americans. 
Between iMilltown and Calais, the river is crossed by two bridges, 
each about eighty rods in length. 

At Calais, above the mouth of Dennis Stream, there is a great 
mill establishment of ^20,000 cost. The river here is half a 
mile in width, and the water is very shoal when the tide is out ; 
but tlie flood tide brings hither a sheet of water from 14 to 16 
feet perpendicular, and is limited a mile above the village, where 
the salt and fresh water meet. 

Five miles below the village is the Ledge, where the passage Tiie kdge. 
is narrow, the water quick, and the navigation diflicult, even at 
half ebb. Two miles lower is " the DeviVs head,^^ 9h leagues HrAti'* 

lieacl. 

above Eastport landing, a very high, rocky, and mountainous 
bluiF, on the western shore, which may be seen 12 leagues. Di- 
rectly opposite to this, northward, where the river is two miles 
wide, is Oak point, on the British side.* ^^^ P°'"'- 

Three miles below the Devil's head, the river passes between 
the village of Robbinston and St. Andrews, where it is a league 
across. f Hereabouts in the river, on the American side, are two 
small Islands ; tlie one is a mere ledge of about an acre, above 
highwater mark, bearing only a few trees ; the other, called Hel- 
leker^s Island, of 4 or 5 acres, was first owned by a man of tliat 

* Pliilip Coombs, Esq. llcrc tlic tide flows 2,') feet. 
tlNIS. Letter of Hon. Jolin Balkham. 



88 THE WATERS AND COAST [IntRODUC. 

name, who became the sole inhabitant of it soon after the revolu- 
tion, where he lived to a great age. The north bank of the Island 
is high and ledgy, the residue is of a rich soil which he cultivated 
like a garden. The width of the river here is 2^ miles. 

" St. Croix,'^ or JVeutral Island, is situate in the river, oppo- 

St. Croix or sitc to the dividing line of Calais and Robbinston, where it angles 

Isfalld! upon the waters edge. It contains 12 or 15 acres and is direct- 
ly in the middle of the Schoodic river, though the ship passage 
is usually on the eastern side ; it is now the residence of one 
family and is claimed by Gen. Brewer. It is a delightful spot ; — 
here de Monts, in 1604, erected a fort and passed the winter j 
here the commissioners, in 1798, under the treaty of 1783, found 
the remains of a very ancient fortification ; and afterwards de- 
termined the river to be the true St. Croix.* 

Pleasant poini, [in Perry,] which is ten miles southeasterly of 
Robbinston villasie and 5 miles northwardly of Eastport village. 

poini. is one of the most delightful situations in the State. It is a small 
peninsula, on a cove making up on the back or west side of it 
two miles. This is the site of the Indian village, wliere the Pas- 
samaquoddy tribe have about 40 habitations or wigwams. 

Ja'fe"" ^''' There is no difficult navigation in the Schoodic from Eastport 
to Calais, except at the Ledge. The tides at Eastport are from 
24 to 30 feet ; and there are some good harbours and many 
places of good anchoring ground, along the western shore ; the 
only inconveniences being the boldness of the shore and a depth 
of water, which is in some places 12, in others 25 fathoms. f 
The only considerable river which remains to be described is 

si John ^^^^ ^^- J^f^'^t ^'^^^ ^^^ tributaries. Its several branches are spread 
through the whole northern section of this State, and a svveep 
around their heads would form a curve, or segment of a circle, 
not less than 200 miles in extent. Its principal sources are in 
the highlands which divide Maine from Canada, and the chief 
St. John, in its meanders, runs more than 150 miles before it 
crosses the eastern divisional line of the State. Not very much 
is known of all these branches, though they intersperse and water 
a third part of our territory ; except, that the soil among them is 

* 1 Holmes A. a. 149 — Sabin's JIS. Let. f Blunt's Coast Pilot. 

J Indian name, Loshtock, or Lo?}g river, very wide, for the waters run- 
ning in it. 



river 



Sect, ii.] oF MAINE. 89 

good ; the timber-growth great ; and the face of nntiirc well In- 
terspersed with elevations and vallies. At the mouth of the Met- ,Vp,a^vBscah 
awascah, however, which is 30 miles from the line, where the French sct- 
French settlement is, people have made repeated visits and some 
discoveries, 

The St. John riVer crosses our eastern boundary line, 77 miles 
north of tlio " Eastern JMonument," and 227 miles from its 
mouth. The Great, or " Grand falls, ^^ are four miles below the Great falls, 
line, in lat. 4G° 64'. Here the river is contracted to the width 
of only 3 or 4 rods, walled and overhung with cliffs, and de- 
scends a f(;w feel in a broken inclined piano ; rebounding from 
a bed of rocks below the eaves of a fall. It is then precipitated 
down perpendicularly, about 45 feet, into an abyss studded with 
rocks, which nearly choke its passage. But with a whirl, it 
sweeps through a broken and rugged channel and a chain of falls 
half a mile long, closely pent with projecting rocks on both sides, 
which so overhang the water in some places as to impede the 
view of the beholder. To the foot of these falls, come flat bot- 
tom boats, from the city of St. John, 223 miles. 

From the Grand falls to Woodstock, at the mouth of the IMc- i\iedusne. 
dusnekeag, the river is about a quarter of a mile wide, when it '"'"^S- 
expands to the width of a mile, forms some fine Islands, and then 
again contracts and passes the Madiictic falls, where the chan- Maductic. 
nel is greatly choked with rocks, though they do not totally inter- 
rupt the passage of boats and rafts. 

At Frcdericton, is the head of sloop navigation, about 85 FredeHcton. 
miles from the sea, where the river is about 3-4ths of a mile 
wide, and where the tide rises from six to ten inches, and is per- 
ceivable nine miles above that place. Thence the river flows in 
a beautiful unbroken current, to the falls, near the city St. John. 

As the tide rises there from 24 to 28 feet, varying according 
to the phases of the moon, they are passable at half flood for a 
short time, when the waters over the falls are smooth. The 
city,* situated on both sides of the river, below the falls, is prin- 
cipally on a peninsula of the eastern shore. But the site of old 
Fort Frederic was on the western side. Patridge Island lies at 
the entrance of the harbour, on which there is a Lighthouse, and 
from which, to the western shore, there is a sand bar. 

"^ In lat. 45 deg. 20m. nortb, zad has 8,488 inhabitants. 
Vol. I. 7 



90 THE MOUNTAINS [IntRODUC. 

In view of the matter in this section, and a careful inspection 
of a Map of Maine, it is almost superfluous to say, that perhaps 
no other seaboard of equal extent can be found so lined with 
Islands, and so highly favoured with coves and harbours ; and 
that no other country, of the same size, is so interspersed with 
rivers, streams and ponds.* It may also be added, that the in- 
land waters are fair and salubrious, and many of them are ex- 
ceedingly limpid. 

MOUNTAINS. 

MouN- Of the mountains in this State, the first for magnitude and 



TAINS- 



Mouiii height, is the Katahdin ;f there being none higher in New-Eng- 
land, except the White hills in New-Hampshire. 
Siiuaiion. The local situation of the Katahdin is about seventy miles, 
north by west, from the head of the tide in Penobscot river, and 
about equidistant between its east and west branches. It is the 
southernmost and highest of nine lofty ridges, branching out 
northwest and northeast ; which, however, are easily overlooked 
from the more elevated summit of this single one. 
TaMe- Around it, except on the north side, are table-lands, about 

*" ^* three miles in width, rising in gentle acclivity to its base. These 
were once covered with forest trees. In the parts near the de- 
scending streams, where the soil is good, the growths were for- 
merly hardwood ; , but elsewhere the ground was clothed with 
spruce. Viewed from the heights of the mountain, these table- 
lands appear like a plain, while in fact, they overlook the sur- 
rounding wilderness to a very great extent. 

Prior to the year 1816, the ascent was on the west or south- 
slide.*'^^ "^^'est end, equal to the hypotenuse of an angle, generally fronii 
35'^ to 46° with the horizon, ragged, difficult, and fatiguing ; and 
the distance from the upper margin of the table-lands was not 
less than two miles, in direct course, to the summit, though the 
tract travelled was somewhat spiral and zigzag. But sometime 

* Twelve Mile pond, 7 miles long' and more than half a mile wide, ad- 1 
joiTiing China; 1000 acre pond in Dexter; Moose pond in Hartford ; 2000 j 
acre pond in Madison ; Great east pond, of 4,500 acres, in Newport, and 
numerous others. 

f Spelt " Katahdin," "Ktardn," Ktahden,"— the vowel in the last sjl-i 
lable having' no sound. 



Skct. II.] OF MAINE. §f 

in lliat year, an enormous declivity) about mid-side tlic mountain, Kaiahdin. 
slid into a distant valley — apparently the effect of an overwhelm- 
ing fall of water. In its descent it rent away every obstacle, 
tearing up trees by the roots, or crushing or twisting them like a 
withe ; — ^an event, however, which has rendered the ascent, in one 
of its dinicult places, altogether more tolerable, and in others 
more easy. 

The circumference of the mountain at its base, which is north- r.asc, <,des, 
crly and southerly elliptical, may be ten or twelve miles. The 
surface of its sides is covered with small light-gray rocks of 
granite, apparently broken and split, as if by force, into a thousand 
did'crent forms. In many places these innumerable crumbles form 
the principal component and consistency of the soil, which, with 
the rocks, are covered by a deep-green moss. Under this, the 
trees of various kind stake root ; which, as we ascend, are short- 
er and shorter, until they become mere dwarfs, towards the sum- 
mit, of only two feet tall, with very long limbs and trunks six 
inches in diameter at the ground. About a mile from the top, all 
vegetation ceases, the uppermost of which is a kind of vine. 
Here the large and the pebble rocks are of a finer grain, or con- 
texture, than those lower down and are of a bluish colour. 

Some years ago a fire from the vallies swept up the mountain, pires, 
on the southern and eastern sides, and rendered that section and 
other places, black-burnt and quite barren, except about the 
springs and streams, where vegetation has reset. At no time, 
however, could these sides be ascended, by reason of their pro- 
jecting cliffs and great steepness. 

The summit of the Kaiahdin is a plain, inclining partially to Summit, 
the northwestward, and formed of solid rock. The western part 
is very smooth, the rest more rough and broken, and the inter- 
stices filled with coarse gravel. Its area, which is a full half mile 
in length, but much less in width, contains about 800 acres, all 
covered with a dead white moss. 

As this is llie highest of the mountains in our horizon, the pros- 
pect from its top in a clear day is, what might be supposed, vast 
and enchanting. Here the beholder sees the great reservoir of 
' the river Aroostic ; also the JNIoosehead lake, except its central 
parts, hidden by the Piscatequis mountain intervening ; and the 
glassy Checsauncook lake, still nearer, one of the great cisterns 
of the Penobscot. Indeed, no less than 60 lakes, of different 



92 THE MOUNTAINS [IntrodUC. 

dimensions, can be counted ; the most of which, probably, empty 
their waters into the Penobscot and the Kennebec. 

On the northeast is an uninterrupted prospect as far as the eye 
can reach, until it rests on the distant highlands west of the bay 
Chaleur. This region exhibits an undulating forest of hills and 
vallies, interspersed whh lakes and streams. Facing the south 
the spectator beholds from Katahdin the heights of Mount Desert, 
distant on an air line, more than 120 miles, and appearing to rise 
in semi-globular form from the bosom of the ocean. 
Fortmoun- Near the Katahdin, north-northwest, is Fort mountain, so 
*^'"" called from its shape and appearance. It is separated from the 

other by an appalling gully, where a small pond gives its waters 
to the great east branch. Its form is oblong, from northeast to 
southwest : its sides are steep and its top is an arching ridge, ex- 
hibiting a sharp edge, a mile in length, and apparently covered 
with verdure. There is another northerly, called Bright moun- 

Bright . .... , . , . , . 

mouHiain. tain, quite large m size and irregular in appearance, having an 
extensive ledge of smooth rocks on its southern side, which glist- 
' en in the sunbeams like isinglass. 

Indian The Indians feared till lately to visit the summit of the Ka- 

tahdin. They superstitiously supposed it to be the summer resi- 
dence of an evil spirit, called by them " Pamula ;"* who in the 
beginning of snow-time, rose with a great noise, and took his 
flight to some unknown warmer regions. They tell a story, that 
seven Indians, a great many moons ago, too boldly went up the 
mountain and were certainly killed by the mighty Pamola : for, 
say they, " we never hear of them more :" and our fathers told 
us, " an Indian never goes up to the top of the Katahdin and 
lives to return." 

The moun- The first ascent to its summit, known to be accomplished by 

in 1804. any Americans, was in August, 1804. About the middle of that 
month seven gentlemen, from Bangor and Orono, taking two In- 
dians for guides, ascended the Penobscot in canoes to the head 
of boat-navigation, in a limped stream, which received its princi- 
pal supplies from the sides of the mountain and a gully towards 
its top. 

* They say tliat Pamola is very great and very strong indeed ; that his 
head and face is like a man's, and his body, shape and feet like an eagle, 
and that he cap take up a moose with ode of his claws. 



Sect, n.] OF Maine. 98 

The Indian guides cautioned their employers not to proceed, if Indian 
tliey " should hear any uncommon noises ;" and refused to go 
ahead when they " came to the cold and barren part of the 
mountain." At length they resolved to go no iartlier, saying, 
" here we stop ; how long shall we stay if you don't come again ?" 
Being told by the party — they should soon return ; and seeing 
their determination to proceed, the guide? again took the lead 
and seemed emulous to be the first to reach the summit. Yet 
the tribe at Oldtown could only be made to believe by the guides 
themselves, on their return, that the party had actually been to 
the summit, where the evil spirit resided. 

Tiie party, after leaving their boats, found as tiiey ascended, wild fruiu. 
a variety of wild fruits, sucii as raspberries, blue, and wortleber- 
ries, black currants, box-berries and bog-cranberries, of which 
they ate freely. The ascent was fatiguing, and in some places 
perilous ; and they being oppressed with heat, drank too much of 
the water, which they perceived had an astringent quality, and 
was evidently impregnated with minerals. 

Tiicy reached the summit about 5, P. M. ; but the atmosphere 7i,e party'* 
not being clear, they tarried only a couple of hours, taking such ^'*^^" 
views as the uncommon jirospect aflbrded. They found the ele- 
vation so great as evidently to affect respiration. On the highest 
part, they deposited the initials of their names and the date of 
their visit, cut upon sheet lead ; and tlien descended to the spruce 
growth, where they passed the night. In a few hours several 
were taken with vomiting, and in the morning all found their 
throats inflamed and sore — owing probably to the fruits, the 
water, and the fatigue. The mountain has been since visited ; 
and the water found to be perfectly wholesome ; — the thoroughfare 
opened by the slide, affording great facilities to the ascent of the 
traveller. 

The adventurers supposed the mountain must be at least ten Altitude of 
thousand feet, (or equal to the White hills,) above the level of "'* '"'"'""• 
the sea. But they were in an errour ; for by a geometrical men- 
suration of the surveyors under the 4th article of the treaty of 
Ghent, they made its altitude, from the bed of the river Abala- 
jacko-megus* at its foot, to be only 4,685 feet. The instrument 



* Below this river, they calculated the Passadwmkcag to be 50Q feet, and 
the tide-waters of Penobscot 650 feet. 



94 ll'HE MOUNTAINS [IntRODUC. 

however was out of order, and the admeasurement not satisfacto- 
ry. Some views have been since taken, and casts made by a 
skilful gentleman,* who gives it as his opinion, that it is at least 
5,500 feet in height above the waters of that river. f 

Westerly, between Moosehead lake and Cheesauncook lake, 

Motmauis. are the Spencer mountains — several in number, large and lofty ; 
and the road explored from Pleasant river, and the Piscatequis, 
to the river de Loup, in Canada, passes between the two south- 
erly and principal summits. J 

On the west of Moosehead lake, and near the heads of Moose 

„ , . river, and on the east side of the Kennebec road, is Bald moun^ 

Bald mouii- ' ' 

^'^"'- tain, five miles long, two wide, and quite high. Below this, and 

ten miles above the forks, on the west side of that i*oad, are the 

Joiins'in Johnson mountains, where is an immense body of limestone, and 

iiiouiiiaiiis. •' 

probably a quarry of marble. 

Marsiiiii 'Mars Hill, 40 miles above the monument, is on the east mar- 

gin of the State. Its ascent commences with an easy swell of 
half a mile in width, and between this and the summit abruptly 
iacreascs, in some places almost to a perpendicular steepness. 
Its top is narrow and divided by a hollow near the centre ; on 
each eiiid of which the trees were felled, a spot cleared, and a 
temporary observatory erected by the commissioners under the 
treaty of Ghent, By their astronomers and surveyors, it was as- 

Hei^iaj. certained that the south peak is 1519 feet, and the north one 
1,378 feet, above the tide-waters of the St. Lawrence; being the 
highest land between them and those of the Atlantic. 

Mars hill is itself covered with trees, and might be made fit 
pasture lands to its top, which is in lat. 46° 30'. The British 
Commissionej? insists that this is the height of land intended by 
jtjie treaty of 1783; and adds, that <'the existence of a chain of 



* Gen. Joseph Treat, supposes Katahdin is about as high as the 
White hills. M. Grecnleafj Escj. computes the hcig-ht of the Katahdin ^t 
C,623 feet.-Survcij, p. 47. 

f The hig'hcst snmmit of tlie White liiils, N. IT., is 5,^50 feet above the 
water ia Conncciicut river.^-2 Farmer and Moore's Coll. 98, 

JThe mountains behind the Quelle, 21 miles N. W. from Quebec, are 
flistinctly visible , and are foHovred bj' tlic ej-e without interruption, to the 
Jii^hlanJs, between the sources of tlie St. John, Penobscot, Kennebec, 
^Connecticut, and Etechcmain, Chaudiere, Becancour, and the Nicolet 
fiyers. The ridg^e must be 2,000 feet above the sea, — Qrccnieaf, 



Sect, ii.] of Maine. 95 

highlands from Mars hill, or its neiglibourhood, towards Katahdin, 
and thence to the head of Connecticut river, is certain."* 

Jlount Desert heights, not iiaving any mountainous elevations ?|"'"'' 
near them, appear environed by water, on the verge of the Atlan- '"^'o'''»- 
tic. There are thirteen grades and ridges of them in connexion, 
which give some varieties to the appearances of their summits. 
The area upon which they rest their whole base, may be equal to 
twenty square miles : and their altitude above the sea is estimated 
at 2,500 feet.f They may be seen more than twenty leagues at 
sea. 

Northwestwardly, between Mount Desert and the Penobscot 
waters, is Blue hill. This afibrds a very engaging prospect, and ^'"^ 
gives name to the town where it is situate and to the bay south- 
eastwardly, because of its blue or smoky appearance. It is crown- 
ed with granite rocks. 

Camden mountains, or heights,^ heretofore called Penobscot Canndrn 
hills, are about ten miles, over land, northwesterly from J\Iecada- 
ciit, or Owl's head, and tlieir tops are from three fourths of a mile 
to four miles distant from Megunticook harbour and Camden vil- 
lage. There are five or six of them, the principal of which are 
Mount Batty, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Ilosmer : they range 
generally from northeast to southwest, somewhat diverging from 
the sea, and are clothed witii forest trees quite to their tops. The 
most of them are neither steep nor rugged. JMount Batty, 3-4ths 
of a mile N. W. from Camden harbour, is 900 feet in height 
above highwatcr mark ; and on its summit an 1 8 pounder was 
planted in the late war. These have been represented as the old 
boundary between the great Bashaba's dominions, situate on the 
west, and those of the Tarratines on the east. They are, with- 
out doubt, the mountains mentioned by Capt. Weymoutli, in 
1 GOo, and by Capt. Smith, in 1G14, when they explored the bay 
of Penobscot. Mount Pleasant, in the W., Hosmer's mountains 
in the N. W. and two others in the N. E. part of Camden, are 
much higher tlian Mount Batty ;" the highest of them may be 
1 ,500 feet above the level of the sea. They are seen near 20 
leagues distant. 

* See his Report in Secretary's office, Washington. 
■\ MS. Loiter of A. Johnson, Esq. 

fJIathcbfstuck-s hills:' See A. D. 1696, History. Also. Penhallow'* 
Indian wars. Church Ex.,4-c. 141—2. 



96 THE WOUNTAINS OF MAINE. [InT5-ODT7C, 

Certain it is that no other place affords so commanding a pros- 
pect of the Atlantic, the Penobscot bay, the numerous Islands 
and the contiguous country.* 

Mount Ao-a, -l^ount Agameniicns\ has been long celebrated as a sightly 

roejiticus. eminence. Its situation is in the town of York, about eight miles 
northwesterly of its harbour, and nearly on the same meridian 
with that of Pjscataqua. It is not steep, rocky, nor broken. It 
is covered with woods and shrubs, interspersed with small patches 
of pasture, and large crowning rocks, which form its summit. It 
is a noted landmark for mariners, being the first height seen by 

First discov-thei^ from the sea. This is supposed to haye been the land first 
discovered by Capt, Gosnold, in 1G02, 

^ From its top, the beholder has a view of the Atlantic, skirted 

Tije priOS- ^ 

pec,t, with an indented shore, from Cape- Ann to Cape-Elizabeth. On 

the southwest, he sees a country adorned with buildings, fields of 
cultivation, and the waters of Piscataqua ; and northwestwardly, 
he has a sight of the White hills, in New-Hampshire, 

Mount Mount Bigdow is south of Dead river, about three leagues 

'°'^''*' long, from east to west, and one league wide. Here is said to be 

a great quarry of gray stone, very excellent for the builder's use. 

The other mountains in this quarter, are Saddleback, Speckled, 

and White-cap mountains, and Mount Abraham, some of which 

Sagsrioaf, are said to be 4,000 feet above the sea. Sugar Loaf, south- 

Kiaco. west, is smaller, Kineo\ mountain is a peninsula en the east side 
of Moosehead lake, a few miles southwest of thje Spencer moun- 
tains. It is 4 miles in circumference and 900 feet high,-— com- 
posed of fine grained flint. Its northern and eastern sides, are 
perpendicular, and it is almost without so much as a shrub on 
many of its parts,§ 

Viewing the surface of Maine collectively, we shall perceive 
^' its most elevated part is near its northwestern angle,^' perhaps 
Sunday mountain, " from which it declines with some degree 
iOf regularity, in every direction, to the extreme parts. "|| 



* MS^ Letters of Hosea Bates aod Cenjaniiij Cusliing, I^scjrs. and Plan. 

•J- Sotnctlmos spelt » Accornenticus." 

^Kineo is tlic Indian natae for Jllnl, 

\ " Iminediateij' at the foot of tliis rnoimtaiii. a line 5 or 600 feet has been 
ithrown without g-cttiuj bottom.'" It is about 120 inii.cs fron? Aug"usta, oortU 
iby east. 

Jl Grronlcars Statistical ViejF, 15, 



Sect, u.] the soils of ma inc. 97 

SOILS. 

The varieties of 501/ in this State, arc such as to embrace inter- 

SoiLS. 

vale, loam, clay, gravel, sand, and ledge ; and these are some- 
times intermixed. 

Alone; the seaboard, there is interspersed amon": the nromon- ^ , 

~ * i Oil ilie sca- 

torics and vallics, a great deal of ledge, exhibiting bluffs, flat and ''"'"''*• 
ru2;2;ed rocks, and supporting in their crevices a half-starved shrub- 
bery, — a spectacle often repulsive to the view of the water-passen- 
ger and vis/tant. 

From the ledgy and clayey parts to the head of the tide, on Ai.out the 
the rivers and about the estuaries, the land generally lies in 
large swells and is of a clay contexure, with interspersions of 
sand. On the high grounds, between the principal rivers, it is 
Joamy, fertile, easy of tillage in many towns, and excellent for 
farms. 

There are large Salt marshes in Wells, Scarborough, Fal- ^ ,. u 
mouth, and Machias, about the Islands of Sagadahock, and about *''• 
Mount Desert, where great quantities of salt-hay are annually cut, 
which, with that of the upland and fresh meadows, make exceed- 
ingly good fodder. In other parts the soil is of a black loam, or 
dark mould, with hillocks of gravel and some slate, as in Cape- 
Elizabeth and Harpswell. Indeed, through the whole extent of 
the State, in rear of the ledge-land, the soil is generally fertile. 

There ai'c to be found many Cedar .^^wamps, scattered about ^'•^''"'' 

I T 1 1 111^ Swamps, 

llie heads and among the branches of the rivers and brooks ; the 
most of which are capidjle of making good meadows and mowing 
grounds ; and cedar affords the best fencing stuff which can be 
made of wood. 

Our Sandy plains, the natural growth of which is pitch and white g,^n^y 
pine, are oftentimes large. They are found in Wells, in Bruns- •'''"'"• 
wick, in Topshajn, in Gray, and in many other places ; but to 
what extent, the writer has no satisfactory information — except 
that he is told there are no less than G,000 acres of pilch-pine plains 
in the single town of Shapleigh. 

Our richest, most productive and valuable lands are the Inter- imcnaies. 
vales. Of these, we have many thousand acres, which are 
generally found to be some distance above the tide-waters ; and 
in wider and narrower parcels, to skirt almost every considerable 
river and stream in the State. There are intervales on the Saco 
and its branches, especially in Fryeburg ; on tlie Androscoggin, 



em region. 



The air. 



93 THE CLIMATE [InTRODUC. 

from Gilead, where the river enters this State, to Lewiston falls ; 
and on the Kennebec and its tributaries, between Scowhegan 
falls and the Forks. Indeed, the single town of Farmington, is 
said to contain no less than 2,000 acres of this most beautiful and 
fertile land. In Sunkhaze, Oiemon, and other places on the Pe- 
nobscot, the meadows are very extensive, and bear large and ex- 
cellent grass. 
Noriiipnsi- The country about the easterly heads and upper branches of 
the Penobscot, the whole Aroostic, and the southern primary 
branches of the St. John, is naturally very excellent. The soil 
is a deep rich loam ; the face of the ground variegated with swells 
and vallies ; and the whole region favoured with abundant sup- 
plies of purest water. To emigrants, it has strong attractives ; it is 
filling with people, and is capable of supporting a dense population. 

SECTION III. 

Jlir, Climate, and Seasons. 
The air of this State is pure and salubrious ; and the weather 
not much given to changes. It is believed that the atmosphere 
here is more humid and dense than in southern climates, as the 
dews of summer are certainly greater. For the most part, 
the air in winter is serene, elastic, bracing, and not unfrequently 
keen ; in spring transparent and humid ; in the suinmer, often 
sultry and electric ; and in the autumn sometimes full of smoke. 
But as the territory of this State extends through Jive degrees 

ture." of latitude ; and as the characteristics of the climate here, as 

elsewhere, always depend in a great measure upon its situation 
from the equator, the temperature of our climate must have some 
varieties. It is unquestionably softened by seabreezes, and by 
the cultivation of the country ; and is chilled by its being con- 
tiguous to mountains, or even to a thick unbroken wilderness. 
For upon these, which are never charged with the beams and 
heat of the summer's sun, the snow falls earlier and lies longer, 
than in cultivated fields. 

Winds. Winds* here are not often high and destructive, and a hurri- 

* The prevailing' winds throughout the whole coast of Nova Scotia, are 
from W. S. W. to S. W. " nearly as steady as trade winds," except during- 
summer months, when they are rather more southerly, accompanied with 
fog's, which are hardly dispersed without northerly winds. 



Tempera- 



Sect, hi.] OF Maine. 99- 

cane is very seldom experienced. Tlie soulherly winds ore tlie 
most violent ; and between tliat point of compass and the N. E., 
thcv, after blowins; 24 hours, usually brins; a storm which lasts 
several days, and always lonG;er than when it comes from any 
other quarter. Tliose from the southwest mitigate the severity 
of winter, and often render sultry the days of summer : But fair 
weather, and sometimes a thundcrshower, come with the winds 
from the northwest. In New-Brunswick the prevailing winds, 
from October to April, are from the north and northwest ; and in 
the sprinii, they arc mostly from the north-northeast, and bring 
dull and heavy weather. 

Tlie zi'a^tr which falls annually on an avcrajrc, in rain, snow, Uain, snow, 
•and hail, is said to be thirty-seven inches: about a third part of'"' 
which is supposed to fall in the two latter. Hail, however, rarely 
falls in considerable quantities ; yet in June, 1781, a hail storm 
did some damage. A southeast storm, though it begin with 
snow, commonly ends in rain. 

Thunder is heard antl Us^htnlns; seen many times in the sum- _,, , 

"^ "^ • Tliiinder 

mer ; still, the one is not often heavv, nor the other vivid. They ■'':"' ''s'"- 
however rendered the seasons in 1752 and 17G0, remarkable by 
iheir frequency. On the 12th of August, of the latter year, 
there was such a hurricane as was never before known in these 
parts : houses, barns, trees, corn, and almost every other thing 
bleakly exposed, were levelled with the ground. The tempest 
in ^lay, 1779, was a tornado; the darkness was only intermitted 
by incessant lightning : it did immense damage. 

Freshets, larger or smaller, happen every year, and usually in prcshets 
the month of May, oftentimes earlier. The double occasion of 
falling rains and melting snows, makes them the greatest. In 
times of these freshets and floods, the waters in the rivers have 
been known to rise 20 and even 25 feet ; when they occasion 
great destruction. 

But droughts arc the most frequent, and on the whole, the nronf^ixi 
greatest judgments which the country experiences, for many times "'"' '''^' 
they are followed by hres, by devouring insects, by sickness, and 
by scarcity. The fires, after droughts in 1820 and 1825, were 
extensive and dreadful. 

It is believed that in more than half the days of the year we have 
fair weather and enjoy the shinings of the sun. But the year 



The sea- 
sons. 



Winters. 



100 THE SEASONS [IntRODUC. 

1772 was very Stormy ; it was even judged that a quarter, at 
least, of the sprmg, summer, and autumn, was actually rainy. 

The four seasqns* are far from heing uniformly the same in 
every year : yet for the natural causes of these varieties, philoso- 
phers have never been able to assign any satisfactory reasons. 

Our winters are cold, usually serene, and sometimes intensely 
severe. We have witnessed many days of sunshine in succes- 
sion, in which the snow did not melt enough to form isicles. 
The mercury in the thermometer is often below zero, though rare- 
ly down to 12 degrees. In December, 1778, many people were 
frozen to death; and on Friday and Saturday, January 19 and 
20, 1810, it was 15° or 16^ below ; and on the same days of the 
week, February 14 and 20, 1817, it ranged from 11' to 15° 
below. But the winter of 1 784 was the longest and coldest 
ever known, since Maine was inhabited. 

Pecember, December always brings snow, yet the weather is changeable. 
Indeed, such are its vicissitudes, that its snows have been measur- 
ed four feet deep ; the ground has been seen sometimes entirely 
bare and even without frost ; and the rivers covered with ice, 
and free from it, in different years. 

But January is a month more uniform and cold ; the snow is 
commonly of good depth, and the ice over still fresh water is 
sometimes five or six feet thick. There is often however soft 
weather, this month ; also what is called " the January thaw," 
when the rain sometimes freezes as it falls ; covers the face of 
the earth with a glare ice, and adorns the trees with glistening 
pendants, too heavy for the branches to bear. When large quan- 
tities of water fall, cellars are filled, rivers broken up, and gener- 
ally great damage done. — In 1771, no snow fell till about the 
end of this month ; and during the whole of it, in many years, 
the sleighing is poor. 

February. In February, the cold is said to be the most intense ; the great- 
est quantity of snow usually falls ; and by reason of winds and 
drifts, the travelling is sometimes difficult. In the years 1757 
and 1763, the snow in the woods was about five feet deep on a 
level ; and in the open land, it was blown into drifts of great 

* M. Greenleaf, Esq. in his survey and statistics, chap. III. has made 
some critical and ing'enious remarks upon our climate, with several Mete- 
orological tables as to the years 1820— .1827. 



(January. 



Sect, in.] of MAINE. 101 

height and hardness. If the earth be a long time bare in this 
month, it freezes from four to six feet, and so hard as to kill the 
grass-roots, and render the face of spring peculiarly deathlike. 
In February, 1772, it snowed 21 times: and yet in 1751 and 
1761, the month was more like spring than winter; — even the 
robins have been seen this month after several days of warm 
weather. 

Dry winters arc commonly cold ; whereas the earth, if well 
covered with snow during the winter-weather, will uniformly ap- 
pear verdant early in the spring. 

If our spring season is very early and forward, the vegetation is 
often chilled and checked by frosts. 

March is a chilly blustering month ; and the air being humid is March, 
often searching. In diUbrent years the varieties of this month are 
great. The snow on the 2LHh of iMarch, 1733 and 1742, was 
three feet deep in the woods, and on the 13th, in 1787, five feet. 
These cases, however, are very rare : for in general, the snow 
disappears this month and exhibits many evidences of spring. 
Robins are often seen, and some garden-seed sown, before April. 
In 1760 the season was so uncommonly early, that the spring- 
birds appeared ten days before the month closed ; the seeds of 
cabbage, lettuce and radishes were planted in gardens on the 
16th of the month, 1811 ; and in other years tlie trees have be- 
gim to bud in -March. Nevertheless we may generally expect to 
have the remains of winter at its beginning, and the inspiring ap- 
pearances of spring at its close. 

^Ipril is literally a vernal month, having nights frosty, and j^^^w 
many of its days chilly and uncomfortable ; also the highways 
are bad, if not unsafe for the traveller. In April, 1733, 1746, 
1781 and 1765, snows fell two or three feet deep, particularly 
the first and last of these four years : There were also snow- 
storms this month in 1786 and 1816 ; yet, the ways have been 
settled and ground fit for the plough m some years, by the 8th 
and 10th of the month; and garden-seeds planted before May. 
The seasons of 1736, 1744 and 1747, were very forward ; the 
grass was luxuriant ; and on the 16th of the month, in the latter 
year, English peas and beans were up in gardens and promising. 

It is in April tliat the ice in rivers and ponds breaks up and 



102 .THE SEASONS [InTRODUC. 

leaves its winter-quarters,* and the frost is expelled from the sur- 
face of the ground. 

May. The month of seedtime and blossoms is May : though frosts 

are frequent, especially prior to the middle of the month ; and 
also, a considerable fall of snow has been seen. In 1769, on the 
1 1th, when the trees were in bloom, so great a flight covered the 
trees and the earth, as not to be dissolved and disappear till the 
next day. English cherry-trees usually begin to blossom by the 
middle of the month, apple-trees about the third week ; and 
strawberries come to maturity about a month afterwards : But in 
1744 some of them were ripe before June; and in 1755 gar- 
dening was finished during the second week of May. In many 
places, Indian corn was above ground that year before the 31st; 
whereas, in 1785, the people only began to plant about the 20th* 
In some years there are droughts, and in others freshets, this 
month. Melancholy instances of the former mark the years 
1 748 and ] 749 ; and in this month of the following year, the 
country was almost overrun, and its vegetation eaten up, by the 
grnshoppers. The year 1763 was rendered memorable by a 
great freshet ; which was higher on the 24th of the month, than 
ever before, within the recollection of any one then living. The 
20th of May is considered the end of feeding cattle with hay, and 
the 20th of JYovember the time to take them from the jxistures.-f 
Our summers are usually hot and pleasant. 

June. In June there is seldom any frost ; still in 1764 one nipped the 

Indian corn then up, and as late as the 16th, in 1775, there was 
a small frost; also in this month, its unwelcomed appearance was 
witnessed during every one of the late cold seasons. Unhappily, 
in 1749 and 1754, the grashoppers were very numerous and vora- 
cious ; no vegetables escaped these greedy troops ; they even de- 









* 


Times wlien the Ice left arid closed the 








Penobscot, 




Kennebec 




IjO. 


ft, 








Closed, 


I-eft, 


Closed, 


1819, 


A 


,pri 


1 15, 




Dec. 5. 


1819, April 13, 


Dec. 5. 


1820, 






18, 




Nov. 28. 


1820, " 15, 


Nov. 29. 


1821, 






15, 




" 3C. 


1821, " 11, 


" 30. 


1822, 






10, 




Nov. 


1822, Mar. 27, 


Dec. 7. 


1823, 






17, 




Dec. 6. 


1823, April 9, 


Nov. 14. 


1824, 






h 




" 26. 


1824, Mar. 27, 


« 15. 


1825, 






11, 




Dec. 13. 


1825, April 4, 


Dec. 11- 



t On the 19th of May, 1780, was the memorable dark day. 



Sect, hi.] of imaine. 103 

voured tlie potatoe-tops ; and in 1743 and 175G, worms in armies 
and in millions, covered the whole country and threatened to de- 
vour every thins; e;reen. Indeed, so great was the alarm they 
occasioned among the people, that they appointed days of fasting 
and prayer. The droughts in June, A. D. 17-19, 17G1 and 
1162, were very severe and followed with devouring fires. Those 
in the last year of the Uiree, being succeeded by heavy falls of 
rain, were thus effectually extinguished. One of the severest 
storms ever known was on the 14th of this month, in 17G8, from 
the south-southeast ; and the damage it did was groat and mem- 
orable. 

The month of July is commonly hot, — not unfrcqticntly Jry;J"'y. 
and sometimes the drought has been so severe as to wither vegeta- 
tion, till its leaves have crackled under the feet. The weather is 
usually fair, clear, and favourable for getting hay this month ; but 
in 1763, it was not fair, at any one time, forty-eight hours in two 
whole summer months. A hot July produces good corn, and a 
cold one, good potatoes. There was a tcmjiest this month, in 
1 784, wiili hideous darkness ; and, usually, there are thunder 
and lightning in July; though electric fluid seldom, with us, takes 
life or does damage. 

Avgust is the month of English harvest, and of cutting mea- Au:ust. 
dovv grass. That of 1752 was memorable for tempests, and a 
tremendous hurricane ; and that of 1774, for the innumerable 
swarms of jlics, which were most unwelcome and troublesome 
visitants. 

It is a remark no less trite than true, that September is the most Sf-ptemb^r. 
agreeable month in the year. It is not, in general, either cold 
or hot ; the winds, if any, are light, and the weather is generally 
fair. In as many as half of the years there is some frost between 
the middle and the end of the month, though seldom so severe 
as to destroy all the vegetables upon which it has power. Some- 
times Indian corn is secure from its effects before the month 
closes ; and damsons begin to ripen. The corn was generally 
spoiled by frost, in 1758; and yet in 1760, cabbages began to 
head, and grass grew more this month than any other during the 
whole season. The summer of 1738 was remarkable for drought 
and grashoppcrs ; and the month of September was rendered 
memorable by the raccoons, red squirrels, and blue-jays, which 
were more abundant than were ever before known. They might 



104 THE SEASONS OF MAINE. [InI'RODUC. 

be well compared to the multitudes of pigeons, with which the 
country abounded in 1759. 

October. In October, the frosts are frequent and severe, and sometimes 

there is a fall of snow : In 1746, however, the grass grew almost 
as luxuriantly as in the spring, till November. Between the mid- 
dle and the end of the month, in 1740, 1749, 1767, 1777, and 
1821, there was snow several inches deep ; and the ground gen- 
erally freezes more or less in this monih, though snow-storms are 
not frequent and never long. 

The year 1785 witnessed an uncommon flood : — About the 
21st or 22d of October it rained incessantly forty-eight hours, and 
raised the waters to an overwhelming height. The rivers Saco, 
Presumpscot, and others, carried away bridges and mills, and 
made a general wreck of whatever came within the sweep and 
fury of their waters. 

Notcmber. As early as in the beginning of JVovemher the ingatherings of 
the field are completed. The sky of this month is frequendy 
overcast, its nights cold, its days blustering, and it uniformly brings^ 
squalls, and sometimes snow-storms, before it closes. Rivulets 
are bordered or covered with ice ; and nature prepares for winter. 
Heavy falls of snow occurred in November, 1738, 1745, and 
1763; and the storms at this season ol the year, from the north- 
east, are long and tedious. On the fifth of November, 1780, and 
on the 13th of the month, in 1783, there were driving storms- 
in which the snow fell deep, and partly remained through the win- 
ter. November, 1786, was so exceedingly dry, that, though the 
sledding was good, the fountains almost ceased ; the bottom of 
the wells were bare ; and the smaller streams merely flowed* 
The icy covert which mantled the ponds and streams of fresh 
water, before the month was at an end, was strong, though too 
slender to bear the weight of a man.* 

Such are the vicissitudes of our seasons, seedtime and har- 
vest, summer and winter, which we are assured from Divine au- 
thority shall never cease. There is however a fact, or peculiarity 
worthy of notice. The winters of 1730, 1780, 1793, 1802, 
1810, and 1824, were marked for their pacific mildness and fol- 
lowed by summers of uncommon health and plenty. This has- 
induced the saying, that " mild winters augur good summers." 



* See Rev. Mr. Smith's Journal. 



Sect, iv.] vegetarle productions of Maine. 105 

Oiir country is lii:ilily favoured with gentle breezes. In the Breezes, 
mornings of summer, they arc from tlic land, a soft and soothing 
zephyr; often romroled by a seahrceze before noon, which lasts 
till sunset. Thus the heat of almost every brilliant day is allayed 
at flood tide, from the salt water, and very gratefully cools the air. 

Upon our coast, foggs are sometimes very dense and dark ; Foffg»- 
and when tiie wind is at the southward and eastward, they render 
the mariner's condition perilous and sometimes alarming. They 
also rise from fresh waters in the interiour, which the morning 
breezes and the sun's beams soon dissipate. An early whitish 
fogg, brooding on the water, is an indication of a fair day ; and 
when vapours cap the mountain and hill-tops, they are consider- 
ed signs of rain. 

The Aurora Sorcalis, or JS'^orthcrn IJghts, were Inst particu- 
larly noticed in New -England, on the 11th of December, 1 7 1 9 j Uoreaiis. 
yet it seems, they were seldom seen for half a century after- 
wards. At these earlier periods they excited emotions of won- 
der, and sometimes of fear. In .January, 1752, their appear- 
ances were more vivid and more frequent ; and though all trepi- 
dation on their account has at this age subsided ; they sometimes 
exhibit to the beholder a spectacle which occasions particular 
notice and remark. 

SECTION IV. 

^Natural Proiluciions, 
After so many observations made upon the Geography and 
Atmosphere of this State ; it becomes expedient next, to givd 
some account of its indigenous animals, vegetables and minerals, 
Each of them is a very great department in any country ; and 
iherelore what is about to be said on these subjects, must be con- 
cise and will be confined to natives of this State. 

THE NATIVE VEGETABLES. 

In examining this subject, it is needless to go into any minuter Botawy. 
detail, than what may be said under the kinds and sjjceics to be 
named and described. Nevertheless, it will be most convenient 
to divide so long a list, and arrange its parts under the heads of 
Trees, i^ihrubs, PUnits, Roots, and Vines. Those of each head 
may be considered in alphabetical order. 
Vol. I. 8 



106 



THE TREES 



[Introduc, 



Native 
trees. 
Ash. 
White. 



Black. 



Red, and 
Yellow. 



Beech, 



Bass-wood, 



Birches. 



Alder. 



Putton- 
Wood. 



Trees j — The Ash is a tree of which there are two species : 
1 . The tvhite Ash* is strait, tall and tough ; and in a good soil, 
grows to the size of three feet in diameter, at the ground. Of 
its wood are made barrels, firkins, oars, handspikes, the handles 
of manual tools, and the frames of sleighs and other carriages. 
It is said that a venomous serpent will not cross its leaves, and 
that these and the bark are an antidote to poison. 2. The black 
Ashj- is not so large a tree as the other. It is easily cloven, or 
rift into thin even splits, by means of a maul, and wrought into 
baskets and brooms. Of this species, the red and yellow are 
only varieties ; and out of the roots of the latter, the turner forms 
bowls of different sizes, convenient in housewifery. 

The Bcech\ is of three varieties ; — the red and the ivhite, both 
larger than the ash, and excellent fuel ; the black, which is tough 
and small, is fit only for withes and switches. Each is plenty in 
our hardwood forests. But the ashes of beech-wood cannot be 
used to make soap. The Bass-wood tree§ is considered the 
same as the Linden or Lime-tree ; its wood is white, and free 
from knots, and its diameter, when full grown, is often four feet. 

Birch\\ is a native of which we have four species, and each 
a peculiarly excellent wood. 1. The white is very useful for 
its tough, lasting and beautiful snow-white bark, which has always 
been much used by the natives for the construction of their 
canoes, an ingenious skifii", ever viewed by Europeans as a curi- 
osity. 2. The black Birch is a very superiour wood for articles 
of household furniture : its heart is of a dark brown, of fine 
close grain, and is capable of receiving a polish like mahogany. 
Its trunk is sometimes found more than three feet in diameter* 
3. The yellow Birch is valued principally for fuel — and each of 
the three species is very good for that use. 4. Alder, according 
to the Linnaean principle of classification, is a species of the 
birch kind, well known, having in its blowth the same number of 
stamens. Its bark dies a dark brown. 

Button-wood, '% or eastern " plane-tree," is an unyielding tight- 



*Fraxiniis Excelsior. f Fraxinus Americana, or Sambucifolius. 

I Fagus. — 1. Fernigiiia. — 2- Sylvatica, 

yTilla Americana, — 'I'illa Alba [vrhitc-Wood] about (he Aroostic. 

II Bctula.— 1. Betiila Alba 2. Betula Nigra.— 3. Betiila Lenta.— 4. Be- 

tula Alnus (Alder.) 



If Plataniss Occidentalis. 



Sect, iv.] of MAT!SE. 107 

grained wood, as large as a beech ; and is used for wheel-liubs, 
windlasses and vessel-blocks. This is said to abound on tlie river 
St, John thouirh not unfrequent elseulierc. 

Butternut * or Oilnut-ircc is a species of the IVulnut, and it Kuuemui; 
is believed to be the only native one of that genus to be found 
in this State ; though there may be walnuts in York County.f 
It is a tree of a middle size, the kernels of its nuts arc very oily 
and nutritious, and a decoction of its bark is a gentle and excel- 
lent cathartic. Jt is said to have been advantageously used by 
the surgeons in the army of the Revolution. 

The Cedar is found to be of two kinds, and not two species Cednr, 
of the same kind ; both are evergreens, and generally, the tree 
is from f) to 12 inches in diameter. The tchite Ccdar^, is be- 
lieved to be the western life-tree. Its wood is very easy to rive, 
is sweet and lasting, and is used by the coopers in making pails 
and other wooden vessels. The red Cedar^ is the largest of the 
juniper kind ; it makes the most durable posts and rails for fenc- 
ing used in the State. || 

Cherry-tree^ is a native of our forests, and is considered to be rhcrry- 
next to mahogany for cabinet work. Its grain is smooth and 
firm, and receives a beautiful polish : It has been found with us 
IS inches in diameter. The TJ/r/tr is of two species, the ^^"<'^<^** Elder 
and r(d.\\ The former, called " Sweet Elder," has handsome 
blossoms, nodding like feather-plumes and a berry not unlike a 
whortleberry. The latter is a mere shrub, which it is believed 
the French call Osier, and is poisonous. The JE/w|J ia a lofty ei„. 
wholesome tree } its leaves, when fallen, arc favourable to the 
undergrowth of grass ; its inner bark is strong and fibrous, and 
is wrought into bed-cords and chair-bottoms ; and its wood 
is tough and elastic. Of the elm there is only one species and 



* Juglans Cathartica ; or Julians Alba, cortice cathartico. 

f Jolintle Laet [chap. 19.] says, walnut trees grew in tliis quarter. 

i Tliya, or Thuia Occidcntalis. J Juniperus Virginiana, 

|] The red Cedar and the Savin, in their sensible and medicinal properties, 
are specially allied, and used to keep up the discharge of blisters.— .jBj^e* 
low's But. 49. 

H Prunus Virginiana, or Cerasus. ** Sainbuccus Nigra. 

if Viburnum Opulus, or cultivated "Snow Ball." — Sambuccus PiibesccD* 
[Red Elder.] tt Ulmus Americana. 



^ ^ / THE TREES [IntrODUC. 

two varieties, the white and red ; the former has medicinal prop- 
erties to relieve the strangury. 

Hornbeam. The Hornbeam* or Ironwood, is a small tree of 3 or 4 inch- 
es in diameter ; its wood is tight-grained and looks like beech. 
It is used for handspikes and stakes, and for binding rafts. Its 
leaves are wrinkled, oval, pointed, and sharply indented at the 
edges. 

Juniper, The Juniper\ is about a foot and a half in diameter when 

full grown, of a fine texture, and is particularly used for vessel- 
knees. It is sometimes called Hackmatack, which is one species : 
A 2d is the red cedar ; and a 3d is an unseemly shrub, J which 
grows in open, poor pastures, only about 2 feet in height from the 
ground, and has horizontal branches of more than five feet in 
length. § 

Maple. The Maple is a stately forest tree, of which there are three 

species: — 1. The white Jiop/c, || which has two varieties, one is 
smooth and straight-grained ; the other has apparent curls and 
bird's eyes, and is almost as handsome in cabinet work as satin 
wood. 2. The red Maple grows in swamps, and though sappy, 
is good firewood when seasoned. It is a tree four feet in diam- 
eter. 3. The black, or rock Maple is the most valuable of either. 
Not only is its v/ood very solid and excellent for fuel, but the sac- 
charine quality of its sap has given it great additional worth and 
surnamed it the sugar Maple. 

From this species great quantities of sugar have been made 
every year in this State ; which, when refined, makes a hard, a 
pure, and very delicious loaf. The trees are tapped in March, 
with an auger, and run a fortnight or more ; from which the sap 
is gathered in troughs, boiled in kettles to a consistency when it 
will granulate, and then it is drained. I am assured that 21,500 
pounds have been made in one year, within the limits of a single 
town. " This sugar, at first moist and heavy, yields a most salu- 
" brious and agreeable sweetening. If dry sugars are preferred, 
" it is only necessary to make a hole in the tub, at any time be- 

* Carpinus Betuliis. f See the " Larch." — [Finns.) \ Junipcrus Sabina. 

5 Junipertis Americana ; also, in 3 Bigclow's B.otany, Junipcrus Conv 
rmmis, p. 43 — 48, is there called a shrub of 3 feet liig-h ; its fruit dark ob- 
long berries, which are diuretic. — Dr. Grovcr. 

II 1 Acer Negundo. — 2. Acer Riibrum. — 3. Acer Sacchari num. — 4. Acer 
Striatum, striped maple or moose-wood, of little value. 



Sect. IV.] OF MAINE. 109 

" fore the first of June, and drain off the molasses, when the 
*' sweets of tlie maple arc in two parts ; the one of sugar, clear 
" and dry ; and the other of molasses, the most pure and agreea- 
" ble" any where seen or tasted. 

No forest tree is, on the whole, more universally esteemed, and 
none ciould with more ease be cultivated than the sugar Maple. 
It grows pretty rapidly, stands firm in the ground, and strives 
hard for continued existence. 

It is curious to know, that the method of making maple sugar, 
an article of so much importance, is learned from the Aborigines. 
Father Ralle, while he lived with the Canibas tribe, at Norridge- 
wog, says, that the insipidity of his dish of corn, pounded in a 
mortar and boiled, he " corrected by adding sugar, made by the 
" women in the spring, who boiled down the sap of the maple, 
" which they collected in bark troughs as it flowed from incisions 
" made in the trunk of the tree." The rock Maple is in diam- 
eter between two and three feet. 

The Oak* is a genus of five species : — 1. Black ; 2. Red ; ^^^ 
3. JVhite ; 4. Chcsnut ; and 5. the Shrub Oak. — The first is 
used for vessel keels, and its bark for tanning ; the second, for 
dry cask-staves, and grows on side-iiills : of this, there are two 
varieties, the swamp and ycUow Oak. The white Oak is the 
toughest wood in our forests, and most suitable for axe-handles, 
ox-bows and ploughs. It is not found in so great abundance with 
us as could be desired. The Shrub Oak grows 8 or 10 feet in 
height and produces a nutgall, the nest of some insect, and is 
sometimes used in making ink for the pen. The Chcsnut Oak is 
found in the western parts of the State ; it is a tree of pretty 
large size and makes the best of fuel.f It cannot be ascertained, 
that the Chesnut-trce \^Fagus Castnnea'\ is a native inhabitant of 
Maine, although it is very common in every other State in New- 
England. 

The wild Plum-treC^ is of one species only, though of two or pium. 
three varieties ; it is of small size and scarce. § 



* Qiiercus. Ist species, Quercus Nijra — 2d. Quercns Rubra. — 3il. Qucr- 
cus Ail)a. — 4lli. Qncrciis Prinus. — 5tli. Quercus Pumila. 
t There is also aoolber variety, called the " Gray Oak." 
J Prunus Sylvestris. 
J Called also pomegranate, wild pear, and June-plum — 5. Lowdcr. 



J J Q TilE TREES [InTRODUC. 

rinc, The Pine,''^ in its several species, is the most common of any 

growth in our woods. It flowers about the middle of June, when 
its poljen, which is of a bright yellow, is so exceedingly fine as 
to ascend with the vapour from the earth to the clouds. It falls 
with the rain, and is thus promotive of fructification. When it 
rests on the face of the water, it forms a yellow scum. The 
pines retain their foliage during the winter, because of " the 
abundant quantity of oil in their baric, which preserves them from 
the effects of the cold," 

7 Species The species of the Pine are seven.-^l. The white Fine, which 

of piiic. jg ^}^g prince of the forest, and which has been seen six feet in 
(diameter, at the butt, and 240 feet in height ; and those of four 
feet through are frequently found. Until the Revolution, every 
tree, two feet in diameter, growing in any part of this State, ex- 
cept within the limits of Gorges' Provincial Charter, was the 
property of the English crown, reserved for masts and spars in 
the royal navy ;f and the trespasser, when detected, was mulcted 
in heavy penalties. So literally is this erect and lofty masting- 
jnne the greatest ornament of our forests, that it was adopted as 
pne of the emblems in the shield of our State coat of arms. 

The 2d species, the yellow Pine, being harder and thicker 
grained, as well as smaller than the other, is used for flooring 
and for planking vessels. The JVorway Pine is another variety, 
of still closer texture, and is much used in ship-building. 3. Pitch 
Pine is the hardest of all, and being full of turpentine, will, when 
dry, make extremely hot fires in furnaces. 

(I arch ) '^^^^ '^*^^ species of the pine genus, is the Larch; and it is the 

only one of the terchinthine family which does not retain its 
leaves through the winter. It grows better on strong stony land 
than in a rich soil. It is said that its timber neither shrinks nor 
warps, nor does it easily rot; and hence it is much used in ship- 
building. It grows on the Alps and Appenines in Europe and is 
highly esteemed. It is said the Juniper tree is the American 
Larch, and that Hackmatack is its vulgar, or provincial name ; 
but this is doubted, 

* 1. Pinus Strobus.— 2. Finns Pinea.— 3 Pinus Taeda.— 4. Pinus Larix. 
—3, Finns Balsaiiica. — 6, Pinus Abies. — 7. Piuus Canadensis. — S. Pinus 
Rupestris, [shrub jine.] — The Pines, sometimes called the '• cone-bearing 
tree," are all " soft wuoJ," 

f Cliartor of \Viniam an:l Mar}-, Inst clauses. 



Sect, iv.] of MAINE. HI 

6. The Fir, which yields a fine balsam, is often called " silver (Fir.) 
fir." 6. The Hemlock in stature almost vies with the mast-pine ; (Hemlock.' 
its bark is much used in tannery. 7. The Spruce is of two varie- (.'?i>ruce ) 
ties — the iv/iite is a straight and smart wood, fit for spars, ship- 
knees, and joists, and sometimes grows two feet in diameter ; the 
black Spruce is used in making beer, and with molasses forms a 
most wholesome and palatable drink. 

Within fifteen years, the white spruce in many places has died 
in great numbers, so that " where once grew thousands, it is now 
difficult to procure spars for the use of our own vessels." The 
cause of this fell destruction, it is supposed, may be attributed to the 
canker-worm, or some other insect, whirh in the summer months 
ravages its foliage and brings on a fatal consumption. Some 
have supposed the cold seasons, between 1811 and 1816, were 
in some measure conducive to their ruin. 

The Poplar* is of two species, 1. the Aspen or white poplar, popiar. 
2. the Balsam, or black Poplar ; the former is cream coloured 
and soft, somewhat like bass-wood. Its trunk is seldom more 
than a foot in diameter, its leaves always tremulous, and its wood 
is poor fuel. The latter is an elegant tree, of a large size and is 
particularly celebrated for its balsam, which in the spring may be 
extracted from its buds, rich and fragrant as that of Peru. Some- 
times it is called tlie Sycamore, or Balm of Gilead, and is found 
in the northern parts of the State. 

Sassafras-^ is a species of the Laurel or bay-tree,t so much 

J 1 1 • • -r • /< 1 • 1 1 .1 SassBfras. 

used by the ancients m purifications ; of which there are with us, 

1st this Sassafras, and 2d the Fever-bush. The former was much Fever bujh. 

the most celebrated, two centuries ago, of any indigenous tree on 

our shores. It grows in moist land ; it is of small size ; and its 

root, bark, buds and leaves have a very aromatic refreshing smell. 

It possesses powerful and salutary medicinal qualities ; is said to 

to be a remedy for the stone, the strangury, the scurvy, the 

plague, the dropsy and rheumatism ; and was a great article of 

exportation in tlie early voyages to this country. One of Capt. 

Gosnold's men, on our shores, was cured by it in twelve hours, of 

* 1. Poptilus Trcmula. — 2, Populiis IS'ijra. 

■j-1. Laurus Sassafras: — In York County. — 2. Caurus Ecnzoin. 

I Cinnamon, Cassia, Camphirc-tree, are of the same family. It is a good 
ingredient in diet-drink ; its volatile oil is of great use. — 2 Bigehw, 146. 



112 THE TREES OF MA ]x\E. [InTRODUG. 

a surfeit occasioned by feeding excessively on the bellies of the 
dogfish.* The JTever-hush, or Spice-wood, is more strong scent- 
ed than the Sassafras, and is a mere shrub ; both are wholesomo 
ingredients in beer, or diet-drink. 
Wickape. Leatherwood or Indian Wickape is a small treef which grows 

or Leather ^ . ° 

wBfici. on the best hardwood land and none other; and its branches have 
a jointed mode of growth, Jt has a smooth tough outside bark 
of a light grey colour, between v/hich and the wood is an inner 
bark, very v/hite and exceedingly strong ; and when green, pli- 
ant and soft ; or even when dry, it is sufficiently limber and flexible 
to be used irj lieu of tv/ine or cords. Millers often lay by them 
a stock of its bark, for bag-strings, in supply of their customers ; 
and the Indians usG-d it for their cordage, The tree grows some- 
times two inches in diameter and ten or twelve feet in height. 
Its wood is elastic and next to the cork for lightness j it is also 
bitter. Of its twigs the Natives make beautiful baskets. Its 
roots are emetic, and its fruit, which consists of small oval, red, 
one-seeded berries, are quite narcotic. 

Willow, The eighteenth and last kind of indigenous tree we shall men- 

tion as found in this State, is the Willow.^ It is of two species, 
the swamp, or red, and the white — -the former is the first inhabi- 
tant of the woods to v/elcome by its blossoms the return of 
spring. § 

The largest and heaviest trees in our forests are the white 
Pine, the Hemlock, the Elm, the Maple, the Beech, and the 
Button-wood, The next class in size, embraces the Oak, the 
Birch, the Bass-wood, and the Ash. The third class is the 
Larch, Cedar, Fir, Spruce, and Poplar, The oldest trees, are 
the Oak and Pine ; for by their annual ringlets, formed between 
the wood and the bark, it has been ascertained that some of 
them have been growing between 500 and 1000 years. As 
death is the natural consequence of age ; decay begins at the 
heart of the tree, 

* Sinitli's Hist. t Dirca Palustris. | 1. Salix. — 2. SaUx Alba. 

{ Stoamp Sumach (Rhus Toxi code nj rum.) 



Sect, IV.] the simuDs of WAl^E. 113 

SHRUBS. 

These form a large family in the vegetable republic. But it yhpub*. 
is not very easy to (listinpiiisli what are shrubs Irom what are 
trees. Both are perennial ; and sometimes a shrub has limbs, or 
branches. In common parlance, however, that is a shrub, to 
the top of which when green, a man can reach, provided it bo 
perennial ; if annual, it is a plant. 

It is observable that no family is so universally fruitful as that 
which comes under this appellation, " shrubbery." Some bear 
nuts, though tiie most of them bear berries ; and with a ^e\\ ex- 
ceptions, tiiey all have something of fruit, which is palatable and 
esculent. VV^e can do little more than mention their genera and 
species, and describe a few w hich are the most important. 

The pric/ili/ Jlsh* is a large shrub, having on its branches ^rultly 
sharp prickles. Its bark possesses warming and pungent quali- 
ties, and the seed and rind of liie capsule are highly fragrant, 
and smell like the oil of lemons ; it is of considerable efficacy 
in cases of chronic rlieumatism. 

The mountain Ash\ is a small tree growing in elevated bogs, l^'ountaia 
having pinnated leaves like Ash and clustered scarlet berries. It 
has a five-cleft calyx, five petals, two or three styles and an infe- 
riour or crowned berry, with a mealy pulp, enclosing three hard 
seeds, like the pippins of the apple. 

The black Aldcr^ is found in swamps, and about streams and ^irer. 
ponds, and ceases to grow when it is about 8 or 1 feet in height. 
Its leaves are alternate oval and acute at the base, with some 
hairiness on the veins underneath. The flowers are small and 
white, growing in little tufts ; tiie bark is bitter and a decoction 
of it is reputed to be a tonic. In intcrmittents, and some other 
diseases, it has been used with success as a substitute for the 
Peruvian bark. Small doses taken, and a wash of it applied, 
serve to cure eruptions on the skin. The black Alder is very 
attractive to the eye in autumn, for it changes the hue of its leaves 
from green to a beautiful red ; and in the midst of nature's sur- 
rounding decays, it becomes one of the most conspicuous indi- 
viduals of the woods, by its glossy scarlet berries, embracing in 
bunches, for a long time, the sides of the branches. 

* Xantlioxylum FraTineum. ^ Sorbiis, 

\ Pi inos Vcrticil!atus,— 3 Bigcloic 1 11. See Birch. 



114 

Barberry. 
Bayberry. 



THE SHRUBS 



[Introduc. 



Boxwood. 



Brambles. 



Barberry* is a briery bush, found in the western parts of the 
State, which bears beautiful clusters of red and very acid ber- 
ries. They are used for making pickles and for preserves. 

The Bayberry, or Wax Myrtle,\ grows from 3 to 7 feet high, 
with its top much branched ; it flowers on the sides of the 
branches, and bears clusters resembling berries. Father Ralle 
observes, as to the method of il'uminating his chapel at Norridge- 
wog, that he •' found an excellent substitute for wax by boiling 
the berries of a kind of laurel in water, and skimming off the 
thick oily substance which rose to the top. — Twenty-four pounds 
of this beautiful green wax, and an equal quantity of tallow, 
made one hundred wax candles, (he says) of a foot long. "J 
The berry, which consists of a stone enclosing a kernel, is cov- 
ered with black grains, incrusted with white wax. 

Among the shrubs of the largest size is the Boxwood, or 
" shad-blossoni'^^ (sometimes erroneously taken for " common 
Dogwood.") It grows 15 or 18 feet in height, has a gray bark, 
flowers in ]May, about the time the shad and their fellow travellers 
ascend the rivers in the spring, and is therefore called "shad tree." 
It is thus among the first tenants of the woods to embellish the 
vernal scenery by its snow-white blossoms, and it bears red ber- 
ries : Its bark is used in fevers. 

Of the Bramble Jcind\\ we have seven species : — 1 and 2, the 
black and red Raspberry ; 3 and 4, the upright and running 
Blackberry, ov Dewberry ;^ 5 ihe Brambleberry ; 6, the Pigeon- 
berry,** and 7, the Cloudberryf-f — all which bear fruits succulent; 

* Berberis vulgaris. It ih said Corn will not fill well near it. 

I Myrica Cerifera. J 8 Coll. Mass. His. Soc. 2d Series, 252. 

} Aronia — ? It bears a berry, having^ from 5 to 10 cells. — J^uttairs Bot- 
tany, 114. 

II 1. Rubusldacus. — 2. Rubus Canadensis. — 3. Rubus Fruticosus.(*) — 4. 
Riibus Moluccanus. — 5. Rubus Occidentalis. — 6. Rubus Caesius. — Rubus 
Cliamacmorus. 

(*) Higli bush Blackberry is sometimes called '■'■ Mulberry ^ Rubua 
villosus. 

IT Dewberries are considered by some to be the same as running' black- 
berries, by others, gooseberries. 

** It is said to belong to the order of Ivics^ — Gr. Kissos \_Cissus] hereda. — 
Quaere. 

\\ Cloudberry. — [Biibus chameamorus) — grows on the sides of mountains, 
or exposed and elevated grounds. The shrub bears a single berry on th« 



Sect, iv.] OF MAINE. 115 

and in most jjUices they are abundant. The last is supposed to 
be the same as the Knotberry. The pigeon-berry bush is as tall 
as that of a blnckl)erry, bears abundance of small purple berries, 
the chief food of pigeons. 

We have two species of the Corinth: — 1, the black* Cur- (■.,ri,.[h% 
rant,f and 2, the icild Gooseberry. ^ Of the former, the party 
that visited the Katahdin found plenty ; and the latter are seen 
in the borders of the woods, in two varieties, red and while, and 
both are of a pleasant flavour. 

Dogioood/) or Cornel, is a shrub or small tree from 15 to 20 Dogwood, 
feet in heij^ht, boarinti; flat clusters, or cymes of flowers not un- 
like those of KIdor and conuuoidy white. The flowers are 
formed into flat heads, compounded and surrounded by four 
leaves, which c;row out and become of a white colour, adding, 
from the latter end of May to that of June, " one of tiie most 
characteristic vei!;etable features to our vernal landscape." Its 
wood is hard, bark rough, and has upon some people an effect 
like the Peruvian bark ; to others it is deleterious, as if possessing 
a poisonous quality. 

Of the llurtleberryW genu3, there are four species, 1 the Hiirtlei>er- 
cranhe.rry, 2, the whortleberry, 3, the blueberry and 4, the bilberry, ('\^n\>0TTy. 
— all of which are plenty, nutritious and delectable to the taste. 1,^,1.".',' ^' 
Cranberries grow about ponds and marshes. Great quantities Ij',)|^,'.|.'y^' 
are gathered every year on the Island Mount Desert and on the 
Cranberry Islands in that neighborhood. The berries, red and 
acid, containing many seeds, arc borne by slender bushes 3 feet 
high, and give a most wholesome and palatable zest to meats. 
Whortleberries are black ; but bilberries, as well as blueberries, 
are blue, being the largest and sweetest of these three species. 

top of the stem. In size and flavour it resembles a strawberry ; having^ a 
greater lliouglt pleasant smartness, and makinj excellent preserves. Its 
colour is at first scarlet ; turning, as it ripens, to a }clIo»v. When eaten 
with su^ar and cream it is delicious, and so coolinj as to abate fevers. 
This fruit lasts about a month. 

* Rihcs Nigrum. f The black Currant-bush is liij^h, its berries are 

in clusters, one variety has a flat stone within, an 1 tlic otlicr is without 
stone. Tliey are drier than Enjlish black Currants. 

J Ribcs Glosularia. \ Cornus Florida. 

II Vaccinium — 1 Vaccinium-Oxycoccus. 2 Vaccinium-Corymbosum. 
8 Vaccinium amonam. 4 Vaccinium vitisi '.oca. 5 Vaccinium Tcnellma 
[Diyarf whortleberry.] 



116 THE SHRUBS [IntRODUC. 

Hardback. The HardhacJc, a barren bush, usually chooses poor cold 
ground for its residence and growdi. Some of its individuals 
may be three feet tall ; being one of the smallest belonging to the 
shrubby tribe. It branches, and bears flowers of a conical form ; 
the colour of one variety is yellowish and of the other a light red. 

Hazie. The Hazle* flourishes in the hedges of fields, and on the 

banks of rivers. It occurs in the south parts of the State, and 
is common in Bethel, on the Androscoggin. Its nut, is of the 
size of a pea, enclosed in a shell, light brown coloured and hard, 
and is very rich and esculent. The Witch Hazel,\ which is a 
plant, is entirely different from the other, and is used by the na- 
tives as a remedy for inflammations. Its seed is about as large 
as an apple seed. It is unique in flowering, for it puts forth its 
blossoms, after the frost has stripped the branches of its leaves. 

Ground Low or Ground hemlock'^ is a shrub which branches upon the 

e'noc . gj.Qyj-,(^^ bears berries, transparent, pleasant to the taste, large as 
currants, and of amber colour. The Indians use a tea made of 
its boughs steeped, as a sovereign remedy for the rheumatism. 

Lamh-kiii, The Lamb-kiU,^ on account of its properties and beauties, is 
a very celebrated shrub. It grows rarely to the height of a man ; 
its leaves are evergreen, very smooth, and in form, oval. Its 
flowers, in their sprightly colours from white to red, give it an 
elevated rank among the kindred beauties, which add brilliancy to 
the natural scenery of the woods. It has been called mountain 
Laurel, Spoonwood, Ivy and Calico Bush. Its wood is dense 
and hard, and is used as a material in constructing musical in- 
struments, and by mechanics for handles to their tools. Though 
deer, it is said, feed on its green leaves without harm ; yet when 
young cattle and sheep eat of them in severe winters, through 
want of better food, they oikn die immediately or fall sick and 
recover with difficulty. Calves, after feeding on its foliage, have 
been known to swell, foam at the mouth and stagger, and were 
hardly cured, though gun-powder and other medicines were ap- 
plied. Large cattle and horses sometimes also sicken for the 
same cause ; and it is said, a decoction of it will produce 
a sensible inconvenience in the human system : yet we may eat 
partridges whose crops are distent with laurel buds, whhout any 
ill consequences. 

* Corj'lns Americana. f Hamamelis Virginiana. 

\ See Juniper — Ante. \ Kalmia Latifolia. 



Sect, iv.] of mainr. 117 

Moose-bush* is a small tree, or larsje shrul), not uncommon in Moose bmh. 
the forest, which, with the noble animal whose name it bears, 
seems to retreat, every where, before the advances of cultivation. 
To browse upon its berries, buds and small limbs, the moose and 
deer seem to be especially cac;cr. 

The Osir.rf is of the willow-kind, and always foinid to be most Osicr. 
flourishinp; by water-courses. It 2;rows large enough for switches, 
yields rather an aromatic smell ; and from its freshness, it has 
been called green Osier. 

The Prune genus'l embraces, 1 , the Plum, of which we reckon Prune kind, 
three varieties, the red, the yellow and the thorn plum, which are I'lum. 
neither plenty nor grateful to the taste. It has five jictals, a 
smooth drupe and a nut with a prominent feature. 2, It also 
embraces the Cherry, of which we have the black ciicrry-tree, 
which bears fruit abundantly of that colour: — and the Choke- q^^^ 
cherry, or as some may call it the choke-berry of two varieties, 
the fruit of one being dark brown, the other red. They are 
larger than currants and quite saturant. The choke-cherry bush 
is a considerable shrub of six feet in height. 

The Rose-bush's, (wild,) holds a distinguished place in our i;osp-hu$b, 
American shrubbery. It grows about six feet in height, its top 
is bowing, like that of an upright blackberry, though bolder and 
more graceful. It branches, and is well fortified with pin-pointed 
thorns. Its flowers, which are of two varieties, ivhite and pnle- 
red, are endued with a fragrance hardly surpassed by any in the 
vegetable republic. 

One species of our Sumach \\ is of a deleterious or poisonous char- Sumach. 
acter. It has been sometimes cnWed poison Ash, and by mistake, "° ^^^^ 
also, " Dogood.^^^ The other is the common Sumach. The lat- 
ter grows much higher than a mnn can reach ; its body, near the 
ground, is three inches in diameter or more, and its plentiful 
branches bear large conical bundles of berries, which, when ripe, 
are clarct-rcd, and atTord a good ingredient for dyeing, and the 
branches for tanning. 



* Or " Mooscwood," Dirca paluslris. 
f Vimcn ViriijC. — Or, Salix vitnincus. 

XPrunut — 1. Trunus sylvcstris. 2. Pruntis virjiniana. — [Cherry-tree] 
} Rosea Sylvcstris. || Uhus Vcrnix. 

H Its berries, which arc large as peas and oC a dark blue, have been call- 
ed " dogberrici.'^ 



118 THE PLANTS AND HERBS [IntrODUC. 

Poison 'ilie poison Sumach occurs in the western, but very seldom, 

sumachi. . r i o t • ^ ' ■, ^ 

if ever, m the eastern parts oi the btate. It is an elegant shrub^ 
growing 10 or 15 feet high, branching at top and covered with 
a pale redish bark. Its wood, which contains a great pith, is liglit 
and brittle ; its flowers are green, small raid fragrant : and what 
is remarkable, the barren and the fertile flowers grow on different 
trees. An incision of the bark will exude a juice opaque, strong, 
and of a disagreeable smell ; and when touched by persons of 
some constitutions will effect them as doth poison ivy. The first 
effects are an itching and swelling, then a redness and painful 
burning. But it is seldom fatal ; clothes dipped in lead-water and 
applied have proved a relief; and indeed many are regardless ot 
the poison Sumach, as it never injures them. Its fruit is a bancli 
of dry berries or greenish drupes. 

Sweet-fern. The Sweet-fem* is much smaller and of less notoriety, than 
the Rose-bush, though its leaves are wholesome in diet-drink, or 
beer ; and it indicates the land where it grows to be uniformly 
warm and sweet. 

Thorn-busli. The Thoni-bushf seldom grows higher than 10 or 12 feetj 
its bark is dark brown, its wood very tough, hs limbs and shoots 
are numerous and thick, and upon its branches grow spurs, or 
slender thorns, an inch and half in length and very sharp-point- 
ed. J Apple-tree shoots engrafted into its body, cut off near thes- 
ground, have flourished well. The thorn-bush bears berries en- 
closing several stones, or seeds, like the haws of the hawthorn in. 
England, though larger. § The meat of the seed is rich and palata- 
ble. 

These are the principal small trees and shrubs which variegate- 
and adorn our woods, humble it is true, though strongly marked 
by their peculiarities. 



PLANTS AND HERBS. 

The native individuals of this department are very numerous.. 

Plants, all designed, no doubt, to be of essential and various use to man 

as well as beast. In China, it is said, every herb is applied to 

some valuable purpose, and every weed has its well known usSr 

*^ Comptonia, Asphnfolia. — Rev. Dr. Cochrane, f Cratoegus Coccinea. 
\ Of the thorn there are two varieties, one has a prirple and the other a 
white floTTcr. ^ J. Bennock Esq. 



i 



Sect, iv.] of biaine. 119 

If the properties of all our plants were scientifically understood, 'iprSs jinU 
the general use ot them would save to the State a heavy annual 
lax, occasioned by the importation of foreign drugs, and probably 
be equally eflicacious to preserve health and prolong life. 

These, as distinguished from the preceding classes, have stems, 
or stalks, without the contexture and firmness of wood. Such 
are denominated annual, as produce fioucrs and fruits only one 
season and then die, as the golden-rod or the strawberry; and 
if the root also dies the same year, and the species is propagated 
the next season from the seed, it is literally a vegetable. The 
perennial plant has a root which has within itself a princijjle of 
continued life, yielding new flowers and seeds, year after year ; 
though the stallc dies the root lives, and most plants have this 
property. Linnaeus calls the whole plant an hcrO, including the 
stalk, the leaves, the pro])s and defenders, and the buds. ]3ut 
what are vines and what are, botanicall}', roots 9 — are questions 
which botanists have not definitely determined, except that the 
former being more slender and weak, as climbers, are dependent 
on their stouter neighbours and their own tendrils for supports ; 
and the latter, while they evince their existence by a rising herb, 
are remarkable for the esculent or peculiar properties of the parts 
within the ground. 

Of the prodigious number of our indigenous plants, wc will 
now proceefl to mention such as have come to our knowledge ; 
and though the list contains more than 150 individuals, they are 
probably not a tenth part of the whole. For the sake of con- 
venience, as a perfectly botanical classification is impracticable, 
they are arranged in alphabetical ord-cr. 

We begin with ^Igrimony* and v.iih the '■^American Rose- 
&ay."f The latter, though it prefers a warmer climate than 
ours, has been " observed growing plentifull)' on the borders of 
Scbago lake, near Portland." It chooses a damp spungy soil, a 
shelter from the sunbeams, and always dwindles within a year or 
two after being transplanted. It is large, straggling, and quite 
irregular in its manner of growth. The bark is grayish and much 
cracked ; the leaves are in tufts at the ends of the branches, ever- 

♦Agrimony [Afrimonia Eupatoria] lias jeliow blossoms, in longf termin- 
a(in;j spikes ; its root is uscfl by llie natives in fevers, and its leaves for 
ditt- Irink and the jaunciice. ] Rliododendron Maximum, 



120 THE PLANTS [iNTROBtJc';, 

Herhs ami green and covered with nap. The flowers form a terminal clus-' 
" ter, just above the leaves, each one is elliptical, having a white 

ground most delicately shaded with lake, the upper and largest 
are freckled with an assemblage of orange-coloured spots at the 
centre. This plant is ranked among the first astringents ; but 
the supposition that it is poisonous is an errour. Both the leaves 
and bark, digested in alcohol, yield a resinous tincture, quickly 
turbid when mixed with water, and the fluid ought to be taken 
sparingly. 

Of the three following we can only say, that Adder^s-tongue* 
grows two feet high, in running water, and is said to be a remedy 
for the hydrophobia ; that Angelica^ is a third taller, loves moist 
ground, and a decoction of it will relieve asthmatic affections j 
and that Arsmart,'\. a well-known low herb, is said to dye a deep 
yellow, but is too pungent and strong tasted to be eaten green, 
even by any beast. 

The Bearberry,'^ or Beards grape, trails on the ground, putting 
forth roots from its prominent stems, or rising shoots, and has 
scattered evergreen leaves, finely freckled. Its flowers are little 
clusters, pale red and white, pending from the ends of the bran- 
ches. A decoction of this plant is said to be good in strangury, 
the stone, and the dysentery. But not more than ten grains of 
its pulverized leaves ought ever to be taken at a time. The taste 
of the leaves is both astringent and bitter. 

Bitter^sweet,\\ a hardy climbing plant of five feet high and 
shrubby, is good for the rheumatism, asthma, and jaundice, and 
in diet-drink ; Betony,^l the stalk of which is much shorter, has 
long leaves hanging from several branches, and a ptirple blowth, — 
a tea of it will relieve the headach. The Brake** of which 
there are several varieties, the root of which is sometimes called 
the " bog-onion," when boiled in water, to a jelly, is good for 
sprains. The Bane-herry,\-\ with a stalk a foot high, has greeo 
balls, as large as those of asparagus, and is ill-tasted. 

The Blood-root\\ is an acrid narcotic ; and a large dose of it 
occasions nausea, heart-burn, and faintness. It is an emetic j 

* Ophioglossum. f Angelica Sylvestris. — " American Masterwort." 

J Polygonum Sagittalis. \ Abutiis Uva Ursi. j] Solanum Dulcamara. 
H To wit, Head and Wood Bctony. ** Pteris Aqnijina, 

ft Actea Spicata, Jl Sanguinaria Canadensis, 



Sect, iv.] of Maine. 121 

and has been beneficially used in tlie incipient stages of pulnio- Herbj nnd 

, '. n 111-' II ^trembles. 

nary consumption, the inlhienza, and the wlioopin^ cough. It 
has been called Paccoon and Red-root. Its stalk is quite short ; 
and its bcautihd white flowers proceed h-oni a horizontal fleshy 
root, brownish without, the juice ol' which is of a bright orange 
colour, and gives the plant its name. 

The Buckbean, or J\}arsli Trefoil* prefers always wet spongy 
soils. The root j>enctratcs or runs to a groat distance in the bog- 
earth, with half-inch joints ; its leaves spring from the end of the 
roots ; it flowers in the middle of ]\Iay, and its blossoms, on the 
top of a leafless stalk, are white, with an outer lingo of red. 
The plant holds a high place as a bitter or tonic. 

Another herb, still more rich, is the Bu(tcrjli/-wccd,f Plcwisy- 
root or Sivcdloic-wort, fountl in dry, sandy soils, and pine woods. 
Its root is branching, pulpous and large ; and its stems many, 
bearing flowers of a beautiful light orange colour. It is celebrat- 
ed for its efficacy as an expectorant, and also in cases of catarrh 
and pleurisy, and pulmonary complaints. 

Those of less importance are the Celandine ; the Comfrcy ; 
the Catmint, or Catnip, [Ncpeta] whose appearance and virtues 
are well known ; the China-aster, a plant of two varieties, the 
one 4, and the other 3 feet high : the former has long leaves, 
many branches and beautiful white flowers ; the other's blossoms 
are pink coloured. The Columbine, whose flowers are red, is an 
annual plant, and grows 12 inches high ; the Cowslip is one of 
the first herbs in tlie spring tliat cheers and adorns the meadows ; 
and the Cuckold, a troublesome weed in plough-lands, whose 
seeds have horns, often occurs. 

The Chequer-bcrry, sometimes called Box-berry .\ and Par- 
tridge-bcrry,^ is a well known evergreen plant, abundant in our 
woods. It is low and humble, and like modest merit, prefers the 
«hade. It blossoms early in the spring, and again late in the 
summer. Of its vermilion coloured berries, the taste and smell 
are exceedingly pleasant flavoured. This " mountain tea" pro- 
motes mammillary secretions. CVore;-|| is common ; also the 
, Chocolate plani,^ which flourishes luxuriantly in woods or 

*Mcnyantlies Trifoliata; or, Hedysaruin Andiflonim, [/7u*A Trefoil.] 
^utlalCs Folmi If., Gl. + Asclcpias Tiibcrosa. J Gaulllieria Procumbcns, 
\ Box-leaved Jlilchcila. [or Tartridgc-bcrry.] || Trifolium. 

^ Geum Avens, or Rivale, 3 Specks. 
Vol I. 9 



122 THE PLANTS [IntRODUC. 

Herbs and ncw grounds. Its root, when boiled, makes a drink in taste 
and goodness like chocolate. 

Colts-foot or wild Ginger,* [Canada Snakeroot] is one of 
the humblest and oldest settlers of the forest. It has only two 
leaves with their stalks, which constitute the whole of the plant 
above the ground, united at bottom, and bearing in their fork an 
obscure flower. Its leaves are kidney-shaped, and the aromatic 
flavour of its root has rendered it a fit and wholesome substitute 
for ginger. Red chick-weed\ is a beautiful low plant procum- 
bent on the ground. The Common Craneshill\ exhibits a horizon- 
tal root, thick and knobby ; a stalk erect ; leaves spreading, 
with a flower-stem in the fork ; and petals of a light purple, 
fraught with green stars at the base. Its root is a most powerful 
astringent. 

The Dandelion^ is a corrective of the bile and a tonic. The 
Dogsbane,\\ though a plant, resembles in some appearances the 
poison sumach, but is shorter, more beautiful, and altogether free 
from its deleterious qualities. The Dogstooth^ violet belongs to 
tlie lily order : — the bulb of its root, when dry, is meally and 
pleasant, and its blossom is a bell-flower, very elegant. The 
plant may be used as an emetic. 

Dragon-root,** Indian turnip or TVakerohin, grows on damp 
ground, exhibits two or three leaves on long sheathing foot-stalks, 
rising from a very curious root, round and flattened, whose upper 
part is truncated like an onion, and lower part tuberous and 
brawny. Its leaves are freckled and often white streaked, — 
hence called " lords and ladies." It is covered on the under side 
with dark, loose, wrinkled skin or coat. Its root is extremely 
acrid and affects the tongue like Cayenne pepper, and is good 
for the asthma or croup. 

The Elecampane, or Staricort,^\ grows 5 or 6 feet h"gh, bears 
yellow flowers, and its root is good for coughs. The Ever- 



* Asarum Canadensc. — Carum Carvi, or Caraway is indigenous and flour- 
ishes luxuriantlj'. 

f Anag^allis Arvensis, — called also Pimpernel, or Poor mail's iceatherglasi. 
J^uttall, 69. I Geranium Maculatum. 

5 Leontodon Taracaccon, two varieties. 

II Apocynum Andros-aemifolium. U Ei-jthronium Americanum. 

** Arnm Tryphyllum. ff Inula. — Helcneum. 



Sect, iv.] OF Makne 123 

srreen* is a beautiful little a;recn vine, that runs extensively on Hrrhs and 
the ground. The Fircweedf springs up 5 feet high, on lands 
newly burnt over, and yields from its blowlh a down excellent 
for poultices. 

The Fever-root, or wild Ipccac,\ occurs in limestone soils, has 
opposite leaves ; and its flowers spring from the fork between the 
leaves and the stalk. It may be used for an emetic or cathartic. 

There are three kinds of Flag,% the sweet Flag,^ the cat-tail 
Flag,^ and the hhce Flag ;** and they all grow in very wet land. 
The first has very long dirk-like leaves, and a root which is white 
and to the taste sweet, accompanied with a rare warmth. The 
stalk of the second is 5 feet in height, bearing cylindrical heads, 
from 3 to G inches in length, formed of a downy substance, good 
for bedding, and furnished with long thin leaves, much used in 
cooperage. The blue Flag [or flower-de-luce] from a musculous 
horizontal root, set thick with fibres, sends up a stem 3 feet high, 
bearing from two to six beautiful flowers : their borders purple, 
interiour variegated with green, yellow and white, veined with 
royal purple. Its root, nauseous, hot and acrimonious, is an ac- 
tive cathartic and an Indian diuretic. Fox-gloveff is also a 
diuretic herb; it grows 18 inches high and is good for the 
nerves. 

G'/nse/jo-JJ is a very noted plant in China as well as America. 
It flourishes best on the acclivities of mountains. The root has 
oblong, white and fleshy parts, wrinkled crosswise, from which 
springs a short stalk, smooth, round, and green, tinged with red, 
adorned with great leaves pendant from long stems, a flower-stalk 
tipped with umbel blossoms of a delicate red, and kidney-shaped 
berries of a bright scarlet. The taste of the root is a sweet bitter 
and somewhat aromatic ; and on the whole, not unpleasant. Its 
medicinal virtues are much like those of liquorice, good in cro- 
nic coughs. 

The Golden-rod^^ is a well known, plentiful, fragrant, sweet- 
tasted plant, growing three feet high, branched, and bearing com- 
pound yellow blossoms. Taken as a tea, it is a gentle stimulant 
and sudorific. 

* Viridium Sepitunam ? f f I Triostenm Pcrfoliatum. 

5 Iris palustris ? |j Acorus Calamus. 

If Poljpodium, or Typha Latifolia. ♦* Iris Versicolor, 

tt Digitalis Purpurea. Jt Panax Qnioqntfolium. {;SoHdag-o Odora. 



124 THE PLANTS [IntRODUC. 

Herbs and Goldeu-tJiread* derives its name from its roots, which are of 
a bright yellow colour, running in all directions like silken cords ; 
from which spring long stems leafed at the end, and a flower- 
stalk, bearing white blossoms. A tincture made of the root, di- 
gested in rectified spirits of wine, is a good tonic bitter, promo- 
tive of digestion and strengthening to the stomach. 

Our Grasses consthute a numerous family, of more than 20 
individuals, such as knot, may, sweet-scented, ticJcIe, witch, hog, 
goose, blue joint, foxd meadow, harsock, red-top, white clover, 
crowfoot, or kingcup, and star-grass.f The leaves of the 
last spread near the ground and look not unlike a " blazing" 
star, whence rises a leafless stalk, the parent of the flowers 
and the seeds. 

Herb Christopher,^ two and a half feet high, has berries pois- 
onous. The Houndstongue is good for a cough. Heaiis-ease'^ re- 
sembles arsmart in appearance, except that it has a large reddish 
heart-formed spot on its leaf. Heal-all,\\ Cure-all or Water-avens, 
is of two varieties ; one has circular, the other oval leaves. The 
former is used to check inflammations and eruptions of the skin. 

The American Hellebore^ and the Poke have some resem- 
blance ; both spring up early, and their large bright green leaves 
render them cjuite conspicuous in the swamps and wet meadows, 
where they choose to grow. But while the poke continues to 
have only a tuft of its original leaves, the hellebore sends up a 
straight leafy stalk, five feet high, and exhibits large leaves near 
the ground, and flowers among those higher up and smaller. 
To the taste it is extremely bitter and acrimonious. Its root is 
also a powerful emetic ; and though poisonous and destructive to 
vermin, it is a cure for die scurvy and a relief in rheumatic cases. 
Josselyn, in his Voyages, says, the young natives, in the election 
of their chiefs, took it, and he whose stomach could endure the 
most, was the stoutest and most worthy to rule. Seed-corn, when 

* Coptis Trifolia. — Bigelow. Eut liev. Dr. Cochrane arranges the smooth 
golden thread ; zig-zag do ; gross leaf do; flesh leaf do ; and Avillow leaf 
do ; — uadcr the Solidago genus, 

fTo these may be added Erome, Bent, Cock's-foot, Ilair, Quaking-, 
Panic, and Soft Grasses, 

I Actoea Spicata. — Actoea Racemosa. 2 varieties: 1st has while blows 
and red berries ; 2d is an astringent. § Trinitatis herba, or Lady's delight. 

II Gerum Rivale, or Prunella vulgaris. H Veratrum Viride. — Bigelo^c. 



Sect, iv.] OF Maine. 125 

soaked in a decoction of it and planted, if taken by the birds, Herbi and 
will make them giddily fall upon the ground and thus frighten 
away the others. 

Henbane* is also a poison ; yet horses, goats, sheep, and of- 
tentimes neat cattle, are said to feed upon it without injury. The 
whole herb, which is of a seagreen colour, two feet high and 
branching, with large leaves, emits a rank oflensivc smell. It 
flowers on the side of the stalk, and forms capsules, or cups, 
double-celled and covered with a lid. As a narcotic, it is a sub- 
stitute for opium. IIorscradish,\ which is well known, is an in- 
digenous j)lant. The Indian Cucumber'^ takes its name from its 
root, which is white and pleasant flavoured like a garden cucum- 
ber. On the top of its stalk are a few berries, and around it, 5 
or G inciics apart, arc several leaves. The Indian Hemp^ grows 
a foot high and is good for the dysentery. Of this the Indians 
make their bowstrings and might make thread. 

fyecacuanha-spurgeW has a large pulpous root, which pene- 
trates several feet into the ground, has short stems with forks, 
whence spring the shoots which bear the flowers. It is a power- 
ful emetic. 

Kindred to this is the Lobelia,^ U'ild, or Indian tobacco,** a 
plentiful annual plant, found in the fields and on the road-sides ; 
it flowers from mid-summer till frost-time. Its height is from 12 
to 30 inches ; its stem erect, roots fibrous, and is much branch- 
ed ; its leaves sessile, oval and hairy. Its flowers are tassel-form- 
ed, with a bluish purple corolla, and its seeds are oblong and 
brown. When broken, the plant exudes a milky juice, which 
gives to tlic mouth a burning acrimonious sensation, like the taste 
of green tobacco. It is a powerful emetic and has given relief 
in asthmatic complaints. 

Others, which are of much less note, arc these — Life-ever- 
Iasting,-\\ found growing every where, about two feet high, on 

* Ilyoscjamus Nijer. -f Cocklearia Armoracia. | Mcdcola. 

{ Asclcpias ? II Ei)phorbia Ipecacuanha. H Lobelia Inflata. 

** 1 Big. Botany, 177. But Indian Tobacco, called by the Natives 
" Squaic-hush,^'' is a perennial herb, or shrub; the bark of which they 
scrape olT, mix. with tlieir tobacco, atiJ smoke it. The stalk sometimes 
grows more than an inch in diameter ; its wood is tough ; its bark a dark 
green ; its leaves elliptical, smooth on the upper side and on the other 
fibrous. tl Gnaphalium Americaaum^ 



126 THE PLANTS [IntRODUC. 

Herbs and poor land ; its capsules make good beds ; Lavage* grows the 
same height, but branches large : Lungwort-f and Liverwort,"^ 
used as preventives, or cures of the consumption : Life-of-man, 
growing three feet high, bears clusters of purple berries, large as 
shot and wholesome ; its root is excellent in a poultice : Lorida- 
les-plant^ is plenty : also Larkspur,^ which destroys vermin. 

Of the Lily tribe, we have several species,^ all of which are 
remarkable for their modest downcast beauties ; but the pond, 
or water-lily^'^ is the most peculiar. Its roots are very large, 
its leaves expansive, with the upper side glossy ; and its flowers 
have a delicate whiteness and a fine fragrance. The root is a 
great astringent and in some cases it is useful in poultices. 

Marsh rosemary^\ is a marine plant and therefore flourishes 
best in or near the salt meadows ; whereas highland vegetables 
die, if salt be so much as powdered at their roots. Of the 
Marsh rosemary, which is perennial, the root is large, fleshy and 
branched, from which spring expanded leaves and a large central 
stalk, rising several feet in height, branching and bearing flowers 
of a pink and pale bluish purple. Its root is astringent, equal to 
that of galls. 

The following herbs, generally well known, viz. May-floxuers ;J J 
also Mny-weed,^^ a low plant with white blows, very bitter ; 
J\lotherwort,\\\\ much used by females; Maidenkair,^^ a fine 
brake and tenant of low grounds ; Mint, or Spearmint, [^JYIentha 
Romana^ a pleasant sudorific ; JMuUein,**'^ whose leaves are often 
boiled in rnilk and the decoction taken for the dysentery ; and 
Meadow-cup, called forefathers' pitcher, or Whippoorwill's shoes j 

* Levislicum. f Pulmonaria. { Hepatica. 

5 Coritlales. — Dr, Grovcr. \\ Delphinium. 

USuch as the yellow water-lil3',ordog'-lily,or beaver-root; two varieties of 
meadow-lilies, ttie upright has a flower of a red colour, freckled with black ; 
in the other, the pensile is yellow freckled. May-lily, or " lily of the val- 
le}' ;" and nodJing-lily. — Dr. Cochrane. 

**Nymphca OJorata. ff Statice Carolinia [or Sea Lavender.] 

Jl Epigaca Repens. Of these there are two species — 1. a vine whoso 
blossoms are white and sweet-scented ; 2. an upright plant of two varie- 
ties : The flowers of one are red, of the other red and white. 

55 Anthemis Cotula. il|| Leonardcs Cardiaca. 

^5 Adiantus Pcdatus. **'* V'crbascum Shapsis, 



Sect, iv.] of MAINE. 127 

all which are common. Millet* has been culiivated with Hfrb» and 
success as an article of bread stuff. We have two or three species 
of the Mallows ;\ one is the marsh Mallows, [^^ilthen Officinalis'\ 
known by the little cheeses it bears, and is often used to check a 
diarrhoea. Milkweed, sometimes called Silk-grass, 'I grows 4 
or 5 feet high ; bears pods four inches in length enfolding a downy 
substance, soft like silk and good for bedding. The body, or a 
branch when truncated, yields a glutinous milk very white. 

JVightshade,^ or banewort, belongs to the multiform Solanum 
genus ; of which there arc many species, as bitter-sweet, ivoody 
nightshade, Eggplant, and even the common potatoe. Tiie black, 
or tvood nightshade, is a viny or climbing vegetable. It runs over 
walls, bears red berries, and is said to be poisonous. Another is 
a perennial branching plant, 2J feet high. 

jVe^i/e^ll are common and of two varieties, hedge and sting- 
ing ; the latter need be touched only once to be remembered. 
If boiled in milk, or made a principal ingredient in syrups, they 
are said to afford a remedy anti-consumptive. 

Onion (wild,) or Leek, resembles Chives, only larger ; the Oat 
(wild)ir has a lighter grain than those cultivated ; Pea** (wild) is 
a vine which has a small pod and a black seed when ripe, grow- 
ing on the margin of streams and shores of Islands. Also the 
Oak of Jernsalcmff is a native. 

Penny-royal, 'I'l or Pudding grass, a low aromatic herb ; Petty- 
morrcl,^^ wiiich in smell and taste resembles the "life of man ;" 
Plantain, \^Plantago'\ whose efficacy is well known when applied 
to parts poisoned ; Purslain, a fat 'succulent vegetable, often 
boiled for the table ; and Poor-robin^s plantain, an antidote to 
poison ; are all generally known. 

PoAre, II II an abbreviation of Pocuto, is frequently called Cocum, 
and erroneously, Garget,^^ and its clusters. Pigeon-berries, 
are said to be poisonous. The Poke deserves particular no- 

■" Milium, t MalvaRotundifolia. | Asclepias. Syriaca. Silkweed. 

{ Solanum Nigrum. ||Urtica Diotica. IF Tizania Aquatica. **Pisum. 

ft Cliencpodium Anhelminticum. JJ Pulegiura Mentha. 

lj\ Arabia Nig^ra. |I|| Phytolacca Dccrandra. 

^ir Garget is a ditfercnt vegetable from Poke, as farmers assure me, for 
Garget-root is good for milch kine, when the bag is diseased and the milk 
curdled. 



12S THE PLANTS OF MAINE. [InTRODUC. 

Herbs and ticG. Its root IS often as large as a man's leg and usually divid- 

vegetables. . . , , , i • i i • i i • 

ed into two or tin-ee branches, and covered with a brownish skin. 
Its stalks are annual and grow 5 or 6 feet high, much inclining to 
branches, which bear leaves oval-oblong, with under and upper 
sides smooth and ribbed tendons underneath. Its flowers, which 
spring from long leafless sterns, are white, maculated in the centre 
with green, and are succeeded by long clusters of dark purple 
berries. These, which are sickly sweet and nauseous, are eaten 
without hurt by several species of birds. The medicinal proper- 
ties of the root compare v.ith those of the Ipecacuanha ; and they 
are said also to be efiicacious in cancerous affections. Husband- 
men use a decoction of it for the same purpose they do hellebore. 

Of the Rush* kind, one species is a low erect herb, jointed 
and rough, like a fine grater. We have also the pond, meadow, 
fluted and bull Rushes. Sarsaj)a7-illa-f is valuable for its aro- 
matic root, which runs near the surface of the ground ; it exhibits 
only three low leaves and a very short stalk. Sktdl-cajj ; J 
S]}leen-wort ;^ Shepherd' s-purse,^ and IVild Sunflowers,^ are 
very common ; also, the Sprig of Jerusalem, an annual plant, 
18 inches in height, of remedial use in the measles ; and Solo^ 
moil's Seal,*'^ with two varieties ; one has a red bell flower, with 
blue berries, and the other, white, with red berries. The Senna,jf 
a mild cathartic, is said to grow in the town of Union. We 
have, also. Sea-weed, [Algae,] Oar-weed, River-weed, and Suc- 
cory, as common herbs. 

Skunk-cabhage'W or Skunk-weed possesses an odour too dis- 
tinctive ever to be mistaken. It springs and decays early. It 
is reputed to be useful in relief of those afllicted with the asthma, 
catarrh and chronic coughs. 

Directly in contrast of the preceding is the Strawberry, '^§ 
whose fruit delights the eye, the smell, and the taste. Another, 
called Two-eyed berry, is wild, and its fruit has two dimples, or 
eyes, and in other respects it resembles a chequerberry. 

*Scirpus Palnstris. j Aralia. Nudicanlis. J Scutellaria Lateriflora. 
§ Asplaenium. || Thiaspi Bursa Pastoris. 

IT Starfljwer, aster Cordatus, 5 species. But Sunflovyer, Helianthus 
genus, is a different kind of plapt. 

*■* Convallaria. || Cassia Lig-ustrina. X\ TctoJes Foctidus, 

\\ Frnjaria Vesca. 



Sect. iv.J the vines ok ma i.nl.. 129 

We can only add, that we have Thistles;* Thoroughwort ^f Uerht anil 
Violets'^ of several species j wild or common Tansy ; Water- 
cresses ;'^ fp'intcrgrcens ;\\ several species ol Jlormwood,^ [he 
wild, or Roman, in great plenty : also Wild Marjoram, [^Orig- 
anvm vidgare^ grows in dry fields. 

ROOTS. 

Besides the Roots enumerated in the preceding list of 
plants, we may mention these three, viz : the Artichoke, the '^""'^ 
Groinid-nut, and likewise the Snake-root. 

The Artichukc** is somewhat tasteless j otherwise it resem- 
bles a small oblong potatoe. 

The Ground-nuts-\\ were originally a great article of food 
among the natives, — they are of two species ; the blossoms of 
one are yellow, like a wild sunflower, and its roots larger than 
acorns ; the other is a smaller vegetable. It is said the Snake- 
root\\ is found abundantly in the town of Warsaw. Also, we 
may mention Fever-root, ^^ which is perennial, and called wild 
Ipecac; its stem is 18 inches in height, its leaves large, and its 
root emetic and cathartic. 

VINES. 

There are a few natives whose names properly belong to this vines. 
Class. 

A wild Grape vine|||I found in the woods, was transplanted by 
J. Bennock, Esq. in Orono, twenty years ago, where it has run 
100 feet, and still grows luxuriantly. It bears grapes which, 
when ripe, are of a purple colour, but they are acrid and un- 
pleasant to the taste. 

He also showed me a thrifty Woodbind,^^ or ivoodbine, planted 

* Carcluus ? several species. f Eupatorium rerfoliatum. 

I Viola. J Nasturtium Aquaticum. 

II Pyrola Umbcllata. 1[ Absynthium. 

** Cynaria, or Helianthus. Tubcrnsus. ft Glicine Apios. 

\\ Tolyn^ala Scncg-a, xcncca snake-root. " Snakc-wecd" is a difierent 
yegetablc. [Chdonc Glabra.'] 

\\ Triosteum Perfoliatum. |1|| Uva Sylvestris. Also, Fox grape. 

ITIT Porictymcnos. 



130 THE VINES [IWTRODUC. 

Vines. on eacli siae ol ins front door, which is a perennial plant. Its 
stalk is large as a goosequill and tough, growing indefinitely. It 
forms a truly ornamental bower ; especially when exhibiting its 
beautiful blue berries. Another species is biennial ; it ascends 
trees, by help of its tendrils, 20 feet ; blossoms the second year, 
in conic forms reversed, and exhibits 15 or 20 pale red flowers 
on a single branch. When ripe, its seeds are a glassy jet-black 
and almost as hard as marble. 

The Hop^ is indigenous and luxuriant ; and the root is peren- 
nial. The great use of it in malt liquors is well known. Hops 
have been cultivated profitably in the county of Penobscot. They 
are a great tonic, and beer made of them is both healthful and 
palatable. 

Poison Ivy\ is a vine well known where it occurs ; when 
wounded, it exudes a juice which is poisonous. It is a dan- 
gerous medicine, though it has helped to relieve in cases of 
the palsy. 

It is to be noted, that there is Hemlock, a tree, and a shrub be- 
fore described, and a biennial plant. ^ The latter, branching, grows 

* Hamulus Lupulus, [Common Hop.] 

f Rhus Radicans, [!VIercur3'.] Glecoma — Ground-Ivrj. 

I Conium Maculatum. 

Note. — Tlie Conium, or Hemlock, is the plant whose narcotic poison is said 
to have been so much used by the ancients in executions of malefactors. It 
grows in the county of Lincoln and elsewhere in the State. "It very 
much resembles parsley — same shade of green." 

An additional Catalogue of JVative Plants. 

Arrowhead, [Sagillaria,) is aquatic, growing in muddy still waters, and 
deriving its name from the leaves, which are formed like the head of an 
arrow. 

Bedsandwort, [Ai-enaria Rubra,) 2 species. 

Bind Weed, [Convolvithis Sepium.) 

Burdock, [Arctium Lappa.) It flowers in August. 

Burr-mar3'gold, [Bidens Cerniia,) 2 species, flowering* in Aug. and Sept. 

Bush-honeysuckle, [Diervilla,) grows 2 feet in height, flowers in June 
and July, pink red, and very fragrant. 

Buttercup, or Crowfoot, [Rariunculus Aborlivus,) five species, flowers in 
June. 

Chervil, [Chaerophillum Claytoni,) bears flowers upon several foot-etalks. 

Chicken-berry, [Jlitchella Repens.) 

Cinquefoil, [Potentilla Reptans,)3 species of clover. 

Cockle, [Agroatcmma Coronaria.) 



Sect. iv.J of MAINE. 131 

often to the height of a man ; its leaves are a very light green Vine» 
and its juice poisonous, tliough in small doses it cures the jaun- 
dice. 

Cow-parsley, [Ilcraclntm SphnnchjHum.) 

Cow-Wlicat, [Jlciliola l'ir^i»ic(i.) 

Crosswort, grows IS iticlics lii-jli. Its leaf is like that of a pcach-trcc ; 
ind when decocted in water, tastes like bohea. 

Doj's-bane, [Apocynum AndroseanifoHum.) — 2 Bigcluu\ 148. 

Dwarf-Alder, [Rumnus Jlhii/ullius,) resembles an elder-bush, but short- 
er, and is a remedy for dro|)sy. 

Earthmil, [Bunium.) a root in shape ami si/c of a nut. 

riowerinj Fern, [Osviunda lirgalin,) 2 species. 

Funiitory, [Futnaiia,) flowers in Augnist and September — a common an- 
nual weed in gardens. Its capsule contains a singfle se?d. 

G roundsel, [Senecio Aureus,) 3 specie*. Ilogweed, [Ambrosia Elatior.) 

Ilancy suckle, [Loniceia Pirinaica,) 3 species. 

Horcliouiid. (JVrtiruiiawi Vulgarc,) water horehouad [Lycopus Euro- 
poeus,) 2 species. 

Iloodwort, [Scuttll-aria Lateriflora.) — See SciUlccip. 

Indian pipe, [Matiotropa UniJJom.) 

Labrai'or-tea, (^Lacdum Lati/ulium,) is a shrub, grows 2 or 3 feci lt\gh. 
Vta leaves make a palatable tea; — used to check the dysentery. 

I^ndics' Slipper, [C'ljpri pedum Acaulc,) qrows 2 feet high, bears a spotted 
red flower mIiosc shape gives the plant its name. 

Leather Leaf, [Andromeda Calyculala,) flowers in May and June. 

Live-forever, [Stxlum.) Loose-strife, [Lyscmaihia Siricia.) 

Meadow-rue, [Thnlietrum Cornuli.) 

Meadow Sweet, [Spiraea Salicifolin.) Tomentoza, Purple Ilardhack, 

Medlcr, [Jlcspilus Canadensis,) 2 species. 

Milfoil, or Yarrow, (.ic/iiV/^a J^iilhfulium.) Milkwort, [Polynia.) 

Monkey-flower, [Jllmulus Jiingcns.) 

Mushroom, [Fungi,) several species. 

Mustard, common, [Senapis Arvinsis.) r<ccklacc-wecd,(.,'2c<oea5/7ica/a.) 

Ox-eyed Daisy, [Ckrysanthemum Leucanlhemum.) 

Penny-post, [Ilydrocotyle Americana.) 

Pickerel-reed, (Po/i/c(/crza Cordata.) Pigweed, (CAenfpodjum Viride.) 

Pipcivort, [Eriocaulon Peleucidum.) 

Pig-potatoe, (.Jpios.) Its roots are strings of oblong cylindric tubero; 
when cooked have partly the flavour of potatoes, — " a part of the vegeta- 
ble food of the Aborigines." 

Prickly-fungus, [Ilydnum.) Pumpkin, Squash, or Gourd, [Cucurbia.) 

Samphire, [Sulicornia Ucrhacca.) 

Fcorpion-rccd, [J\lyosolis Scorpioidcs,) 2 species. 

Sedge, or Sedge-grass, [Carex,) is a genus of " not less than 90 species in 
this country and a still greater n\imber in Europe. They are nearly relat- 
ed to the grasses, growing in woods and marshy meadows They are pe- 
rennial, often vegetate in tufts, hare leaves like grass, but keeled, and pro- 
^ueo triangular stems solid within. 



Zoology. 



132 THE ANliMAl.» [INTRODUC. 

SECTION V. 

Native Animals , Beasts , Birds , Fislies, Vermes, Reptiles and Insects 
BEASTS, OR QUADRUPEDS.* 

In our observations upon the different creatures of this section, 
respect will be had to the Linnaean classification and arrangement ; 

Side-Saddle, [S«?rac/ma Pwrpwrca;) taking' its common name from the 
shape of its leaf; it grows in wet, mossy bogs, and vegetates in clusters 
rather than leaves ; tubular like a bottle. 

Sea-milkwort, [Glaux jMaritima.^ 

St. John's-wort, [Hypericum Perfurinatum.) 

Snow-ball, [Viburnum Opulus,) is a shrub having a flower like a rose, 
though vrithout any of its fragrance. 

Snow-thistle, [Sonchus,) resembles lettuce. 

Spikenard, Sarsaparilla, are species of the Jlralia. 1. Race-mosa — 2. JV«- 
dicauUs. Aralia Spinosa, [Angelica-tree] is a large shrub, covered with 
sharp thorns. The other is a stout herb. 

Speedwell, [Veronica Scrphillifolia.) 

Spring-beautv* [Claytonia Virginica.) Spleenwort, [Asplenium.) 

Spurge, [Euphorhia Helioscopia.) It contains an acrid milky juice. 

Spurney, [Spergula Arvcnsis.) 

Sweet Pea, [Lalhyrus Venosus,^ [Vetchling] a most fragrant annual 
plant. Toucli-me-not, [Impatiens noli me tangere.) 

Trefoil-bush, [Hedysarum Andiflorum.) 

Turnip, [Brassica Rapa.) Wild Turnip, [Arttm Triphillum.) 

Twinflower, [Linnoea Borealis.) Venus' Pride, [Houstonia Linnacei.) 

Water-arum, [Calla Pahistris.) Water Fescue, [Festuca Fluitans.) 

Water florehound, [Lycopus Virginicus.) 

Water Purslane, [Isuardia Palustris.) 

Water Parsnip, [Stum Lalifulium.) White Lettuce, [Preanthes Alba.) 

Wild-rye, [Elymus Vivglnius.) Windflower, [Anemone Hepatica.) 

Willow-herb, [Epilobium Augustifolium,) 

Wood-sorrel, [Rumex Acclosella.) 

Grasses. — Bam; Blue-eyed; Chess; Cotton ; Couch ; Dropseed ; Goose- 
fool ; Horsetail ; Herds ; Indian-sweet ; Knot ; Meadow ; Millet ; Orchard ; 
Red-top and Timothy. — Mr. JVuttall, p. 190, says, "the Mays, [Maize], or 
Indian Corn [Zea Mays] belongs to the family of the Grasses. The flow- 
ering top, or pinnacle, consists of flowers which all well know, never pro- 
duce corn. 

N. B.— For facts relative to several of the Plants, particular acknowl- 
edgements are due to the " JVeto Dispensatory,'" of J. Thacher, M. D. ; to 
the " American Medical Botany,'" &c. in 3 vols, with plates, by Jacob Big- 
elow, M. D.— also, to S. Lowder,jr. and J. Bennock, Esqrs. The Bot- 
any of Thomas JVultall, Esq. Professor, ^c. at Harv. University, has been 
consulted; and also the list of indigenous plants of Rev. Dr. Cochrane, 
V. Pres. of King's Coll. N. S.— 2 Halliburton's Hist. JV. S. 405. 
* See N. A. Review, No. 1, 1826, p. 120. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. I33 

and the descriptions given will be such as have been received from 

liunters, and naturalists. 

The Bat is of the mouse order: it brinirs forth its yoiins; alive Cai. 

and suckles them. Its teeth are very shnrp ; only its hind feet 

are disengaged from the skin ; and the web of its wings is thin, 

without down or feathers. 

Of the Bear hind* are three species : 1 . the Bear itself, „ 

Pear 

which with US, is of black or a dark brown colour; and large, «""*• 
weighing from 3 to 400 pounds. Its flesh is good, and its skin 
and its grease is valuable. It chooses for its food, corn, sweet 
apples, and nuts ; and when driven by hiuiger, it will destroy the 
smaller domestic animals, and has been known to kill niileh cows. 
Children have been sometimes attacked by this animal, but it flies 
before a man. Wiien " tree'd" and unable to escape its pursuer, 
it will gather its body into a globular form and let itself down 
from the top of a tall tree, to the ground, from which it will re- 
bound two or three feet, and receive no hurt. One so escaped 
from the great hunter, John Getchel of Vassalborough, who pur- 
sued it with a pitchfork to the top of a tree whence it dropt. The 
female usually bears two cubs at a birth. During the winter 
months the bear lies dormant in some well-chosen den, which is 
usually a shelving rock, on the southerly side of a hill, where it 
dozes, without food and without much respiration. Before it re- 
tires in November, it gums up, as the hunters call it, by taking 
into its stomach a quantity of gum and turpentine as large as a 
man's fist. 

2. The second species is the Raccoon. This creature is shaped jtacpoo„^ 
like a fox, though with shorter legs and sharper claws. Its flesh 

is excellent for the table ; its fur, which is of a dark gray, is 
good for hatting, and it weighs from 20 to 30 pounds. 

3. The JVohcrinc, [Carcajou, f] is as large as a wolf and of Wolverine 
like colour ; it has very long feet, and toes strongly set with claws. 

It is bold and fierce, and will dart from the branches of trees upon 
the backs of the deer, and even the moose j and with wondcr- 

* A bear will live 20 years. 

fGoIiIsmith supposes (he Glutton "in (lic nortli pnrls of America — lias 
the name of Carcajou ;" and " the wolverine is distinpfuislicd from the 
glutton by its supcriour size and colour." — 2 Goldsmith, 3C5, 368. But he 
is not correct. 



Castor 

KINU. 

Beaver. 



134 THE ANIMALS [IntroDUC. 

ful dexterity Open the jugular vein with its teeth, and thus bring 
its prey to the ground.* 

We have two species of the Castor Jcincl,f viz. 1. the jBear 
and 2. the Muskrat or Musquash. 

The Beaver is in many respects the most remarkable of all 
our wild animals. Its head is large, its ears short : its fore tee h 
are prominent, long, and sturdy, and hollowed like a gouge ; lis 
fore legs are short, with toes separate, and its hinder ones arc 
long, with toes webbed. Its tail is large, broad, and scaly, re- 
sembling the body of a fish ; its fur is black, very thick and fine, 
and highly valued. It is an amphibious animal ; its body is three 
feet in length, and its weight 45 or 50 pounds. The castor, so 
much celebrated, lies in sacks behind the kidneys. Beavers 
like birds, have only one place for evacuations. They dwell to- 
gether in families, of which the male and its female, and 4 or 5 
young ones of a year old, called by the Indians peoys, form one 
household ; the construction of their dams and habitations, so 
particularly described by most writers on the subject, are evincive 
of a wonderful sagacity. 
Musquash. The Musquash is also amphibious, and affords a strong musk. 
It is sometimes called the Muskrat.\ It forms its cabin in stag- 
nant water, with sticks and mud, and is smaller than a beaver, 
being 15 inches in length and one foot in circumference, and will 
weigh about four pounds. Its back is dark, its sides red-brown, 
and its fur valuable. 

The species of the Cat kind^ found in our forests are three, 
l.the Catamount. 2. the Wild- Cat. 3. the Black- Cat. 

The Catamount, {the Indian Lunkson, or evil devil,) is a 
most ferocious and violent creature, more to be feared by the 
hunters and Indians, than any other one in our woods. Its head 
is like that of a common cat ; its body is threefold larger ; its 
tail is about five inches long, its colour gray and its fur poor. It 



Cat kind. 



Catamount, 



'^ 1. Ursiis Arctos, (Bear,) — 2. Ursus Loton, (Raccoon.) — 3. Ursus Lnscus, 
(Wolverine.) f 1, Castor Liber. — 2. Castor Zibethicus. 

J Goldsmith considers the Muskrat a species of the Rat g-enus; whereas 
American naturalists rang-e it under the Castor kind. — 2 vol. 278. 

5 Felis. 1. Felis Pardalis.— 2, Fclis Lynx.— 3. Felis Lepus.— Gold- 
smith supposes the •' Catamountaia" is the same as the eastern Ocelot, or 
Tyger-Cal. 2 vol. 276, 260. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 135 

is found between the Penobscot and St. John rivers. There is 
another variety, with a longer tail, shorter legs and darker colour. 

The Wild-Cat, or mountain cat, is much heavier and fiercer Wiidcnt. 
than any of the domestic species. It is of a sallow-ground col- 
our, and its weight about 30 or 40 pounds. The Black- Cat is niarU-cai. 
much larger in size than the wild-cat, very ravenous and fierce, 
has short legs and a long tail, and is of a black colour ; called 
by the natives JVooleneag. A hunter has assured me that there 
is a (oiuth species found in our woods, called Loucifc* which 
has a cat's head and ferocity, but its fore legs and tail are short 
and its hind legs long. It is of a light gray colour, is t\\ ice as 
large as a rabbit and is 18 inches high. 

Of the Deer kind,\ we may reckon three species, — 1 . the Pkir 
J\loosc. 2. the Deer, and 3. the Caribou. 

The Moose, sometimes called with us the " ]Moosc-Decr,"J is Moose, 
the most noble animal of our forests, as the white pine is chief 
among the trees. Hence the INIoose as well as the Pine is in- 
troduced into our shield, in the coat of arms, or the great seal of 
the State. 

His height is equal to that of a common horse ; his legs are 
longer and somewhat smaller ; and his head and neck are shaped 
like that of a colt, with a small mane. He is very fleet-footed, 
able to trot 12 miles an hour; and when pursued, his hoofs, 
which are cloven, click and crackle so bud every step, as to be 
heard some distance. His tail is short, his body large, gaunt and 
cylindrical, and his hair is an intermixture of white and reddish 
brown, forming a beautiful gray. He chews the cud and has 
lofty horns, ten feet apart from tip to tip, when fidly grown, which 
he lays back upon his shoulders when he travels, and which he 
annually sheds ; the female is without horns. His flesh is never 
\ery fat, but exceedingly tender and juicy, and is said to make a 
sweeter and better steak than that of a well fattened bullock. 



* «' Loiipcervicr," which is also found in New-Brunswick and N. Scotia. 
— Sketches of A". /?. 2 Hal. JV". S. 301. 

t 1. Ccrvtis Torandus — 2. Cervus Dama, (will live 20 years.) — 3. Ccrvus 
Canadensis. 

\ Goldsmith snys, " there is but very little difference between the Euro- 
pean Elk and the .American i\toose-Dcer." 2 vol. 206. He also says, p. 
213, the N. Americans himt the rfifi-(/ffr " under the name of the Cari- 
bou."' But he mistakes 



136 'J'HE ANIMALS [InTRODUC. 

The most favourable time for hunting them is when there is a 
deep snow on the ground, bearing a hard crust. His skin makes 
soft beautiful leather, and is highly valued. The whole weight of a 
full grown male is from 800 to 1 200 pounds. The food of these 
animals is grass, shrubs, buds, moss and the bark of trees, espe- 
cially beech and moose-wood, a sort of maple. In summer they 
associate in families ; and in companies during winter : the fe- 
male generally brings forth two at a birth, in April, which follow 
the dam a year. 

They were, for a century after Maine was first attempted to be 
settled, found and killed in great numbers ; and in Nova Scotia, 
they were still more abundant ; so diat as late as during the Amer- 
can Revolution, they were in that province hunted by the loyal- 
ists merely for their skins, and four or five hundred killed in one 
year. They are now scarce in this State. A gentleman informs 
me, that in March, 1 786 or 7, a male Moose was driven into 
Hallowell from the wilderness, by the hunters. He strove to herd 
among the cattle, but being discovered, fled to the river, then cov- 
ered with ice 5 and when he found himself surrounded on all 
sides by his jjursuers, he seemed to submit to his fate in despair. 
The first shots at him broke his under jaw, and he was dropped 
by a ball through his body. He had then no horns. 

j)ggr_ The Deei- is of a cinerous brown, has slender horns with shoots 

on the interiour side, one for every year after the third of its age ; 
and these horns, of three pounds weight, he casts every spring. 
The amorous season is September 5 and the modest doe sepa- 
rates from the buck into secret places to bring forth her young, 
bearing two, sometimes three, at a birth. The flesh and skin of 
the deer are highly valued ; their weight of carcase is from 250 
to 300 pounds. They are still plenty in this State, and have 
very lately been seen near the head of the tide in Penobscot 
river. 

Caribou. The Caribou* is a large animal, about half way in size be- 

tween the deer and the moose. It is seen about the upper 
branches of the river St. John, and in many other parts of the 
State. Within a few years one was killed in a farmer's barn- 
yard in Han:ipden, herding among the cattle — probably chased 

* Buccaribou. — Sullivan — It is found also in Nova Scotia and N. Bruns- 
wick. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 137 

tliere by huntsmen or hounds. It has branching palmated horns 
with brow antlers. It is a neat beast, and is very fleet, but its 
flesh is not so good as tliat of the moose. Some call it the rein- 
deer of North America. 

It is believed that we have only two species of the Dog hind ;^ Dog kind. 
1. the Fox, and 2. the IVoIf ; and that the sorts of the former!'?^-. 

\V oil. 

arc not difTercnt species, but merely varieties of the same spe- 
cies : These are the red, the silver-gray, the black, and tlie cross 
Foxes. They intermix ; and one full grown would weigh about 20 
pounds. f The silver-grays are very beautiful animals. The fox 
is sometimes mischievous. But no wild creature has been more 
troublesome to the husbandman than the JVolf. Till the Sepa- 
ration, a bounty of four pounds currency was provided by law 
for every one killed. It weighs about 80 or 90 poundsj. 

The Ilare^ and the Rabbit\\ are two species of one genus. Harp and 
wliich has an inner and outer row of fore teeth in the upper jaw ; " ' " 
on each fore foot they have five toes, and four on each hind foot. 
The latter species wears a long silky silver-white coat of fur dur- 
ing the winter. Both feed on green vegetables, and their flesh 
is much esteemed. The female is capable of bearing at six 
months old, breeds six or seven times in the year and brings forth, 
in a month from gestation, some 4, 5, or 6 young at a time, which 
are often devoured by the male, as well as by foxes, weasels and 
other animals. The bed of her young is lined with down pluck- 
ed from her own skin, and she never leaves them except when 
pressed with hunger. 

On the branches of the Penobscot, and probably in other Hole*. 
places, are found in abundance, two species of the Mole /IF one, 
called the digger, is very small, and has a peaked nose ; the other 
is larger than a house-mouse, and has very short legs. 

*1. Canis AIopcx, (will live 15 years.) — 2. Canis Lupus, (will live 20 
years.) 

flu Nova Scotia, is tlic black- For. It is probably tlic Fisher, or Black 
Ca/, resembling a Martin. Its length 2 feet, circumference 1 foot; taiJ 
12 inches long; yet rarely met with among us. 

I The wolf is the same in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. — A. A. 
Review, 1026. 

J Lepus Timidus. |1 Lepns Americanns. In Elaine the Hare and 

Rabbit arc each about 7 or S pounds' weight, though the Hare is commonly 
the larger, but in Europe it is twofold larger. H Talpa. 

Vol. I. 10 



138 THE ANIMALS [IntrODUC. 

Mice. 'I'he three species of the Mouse kind* seen in our wood- 

lands, are — 1. tlie shrew, — 2. the gj-ound, and 3. the field Mouse. 
The first is the smallest of quadrupeds, with eyes exceedingly lit- 
tle ; the second is slate-coloured, hurrows in the ground, and fre- 
quently does damage to the roots of trees ; the third is larger 
than the house mouse, its colour, on the back and sides, is of an 
orange-brown, and its belly of a dull white. 

Porfupine. 'pjjg Porcupine, or Hedgehog, or more scientifically, the Ur~ 
cJiiiij^ is a quadruped, slow in motion, of a gray colour, and of 
about ten or twelve pounds in weight. Its flesh is wholesome j 
it feeds on the roots and bark of plants. The female brings three 
or four at a birth, once a year ; the time of gestation being about 
40 days. What is most remarkable about this animal is its quills, 
which are its defence, and, like barbed darts, wound its assailant 
and stick fast in the flesh. The Indians dye them of various 
colours, and then work them into curious figures^ on their moc- 
casins, belts, and birchen vessels. 

Kai TiiP Rnfl of the woods is a cunning, shy creature, about which 

hunters can give me but little information. It is dark coloured 
and burrows in the ground ; — not often caught or seen. 

The Skunk'^ has been marked as of the cat kind, and a kin- 
dred of the polecat, though smaller ; but it is certain that the two 
'greatly di]Ser. Its defence is the fluid it scatters and fluls on its 
assailant ; and so intolerable is its scent, that never was armour 
«iore universally protective. A foreigner, after viewing this little 
harmless creature, gave it a switch, and, as he himself stated the 
case. ■' ere the wiiip touched its calico back, it turned up its pos- 
•* teriors towards me, and lifting up one hind leg, discharged a 
-* Stygian liquor, of a scent I shall never forget to my dying day. 
' In a moment, the place was filled with a most horrid stench, 
* wliich beggars all description. Tliis infernal water made me so 
' offensive, I was for many days ashamed to go into a house, or 
-* even to meet a person in the highway.' 

Of the Squirrel kind\\ we have five species, — viz. 1. ihc black; 

* J> Sorex Cristatus. — 2. Sorex Murinus. — 3. Sorex Areneus. 

Coidsmitli who follows Biidbn considers every species of the mouse end 
mole as belont^ing- to llic '• Pat khuW^—Z vol. cluip. I. 

t JIvstrix Dorsata. t ^Vus ? i:^) Ivcsiris ?— (crreslris- I 

or Ground rat. 5 ^'iverra Fiilorius. i 

8 I. SciurisNig-cr.— 2. i:ci<nri;s Cincreus.— 3. SciurusFlavus — 4. Sciurus j 
Slriatus.— 5. Sciurus Volans. It ie said a s<^uirrel will lire T years. < 



ISkuiik. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 139 

2. the gray ; 3. the red ; 4. the striped ; 5. the _/7y»»£r Squirrel, 
all of whicli are too univcisally known to need description ; ex- 
cept, perhaps, the last. The flyinj;; Squirrel is the least and most 
beautiful, being covered with a very fine and dcHrnte fur. It has 
tvinss which enable it to (ly from one tree to another, ilie distance 
of '10 feet. It is almost ns large as a striped Squirrel, and feeds 
on buds ant! wild seeds. 

There are in our woods, of the JVectscI Icind* five very noted \^>'•'l»el 

•' kind. 

species: — 1. Ermine; 2. Martin ; 3. Mink; 4. Otter; and 
5. Weasel, (sui speciei,) and, perhaps, G. the Folecat.f 

1. The Ermine, or Sahle, resembles a Weasel, except that it f^rir.''*-, or 

.... ."5tii>;e. 
is lar2:er, weighing about IG ounces; it has its tail tijiped with a 

beautiful black. In summer, its colour is a darker orange-red 

than a fox, and almost as white as snow, in winter. Some have 

a lined back of dark brown, from head to tail ; every one of 

tiiem has a most fine and delicate fur : and it is the sprightliest 

animal in nature. Very many of them are caught in the north 

parts of the State every year. 

2. The Marten is very shy and retiring ; its colour is a brown, Manin. 
nearly approaching a black ; it is about 18 inches in length, and 
weighs between four and five pounds. The female brings forth 
from three to six, at a litter. 

3. The Mink is an amphibious animal, burrows generally in Mink, 
the banks of ficsh water ponds, rivers, and lakes. Its legs are 
short, its colour brown, and its fur is valuable. The weight of 
one is about equal to that of a marten. If it frequents the salt 
water, its fur is of a poorer quality. J It looks much like a sable. 



Note. — Tlicrc is nn animal in the \vou:!s by tlie name of H riscow, form- 
erly numerous about tlic licatis of llic Kennebec and (be Arulroscojrg'in. 
It is of a dark brown colour, with lonj fur and a biishj tail. His liody re- 
sembles that of a bear; it has a larg^c flat foot, and is about the size of a 
common dog. This animal is very furious and troublesome to liic hunters, 
often robbing their traps of game and Iheir camps of provision. — To avoiJ 
being caught when pursued, it will ascend the highest trees. — E. Chase, 
Esq. 

* 1. Mnslcla F.riiiinca.— 2. Miislcla Maries.— 3. Mnbtela Canadensis. — 
4. Mustela Latra. — 5. Mustcla Mustaela. 

t The Polecat is larger than the Weasel, being 1 foot 5 inches long, of 
a deep chocolate colour. 

\ The Mink is not mentioned by Goldsinitb. 



140 THE BIRDS [IntrODUC, 

Ouen 4. The Otter is fierce and voracious ; it feeds on fish, fi'ogs, 

water-rats and other little animals ; has short legs with membranes 
between its toes, fitted either for running or swimming. It is not 
amphibious, though it can live a long time under water. Its col- 
our is black, its fur is much esteemed, the length of its body five 
or six feet, its weight 20 pounds or more, and its strength and 
courage such, that it has ventured in its rage to attack a man in 
self-defence. 

Weasel. g^ rpj^g Weasel is longer bodied, more slim and active than a 

squirrel ; its eyes are piercing ; motions very quick ; belly cream- 
coloured ; back brown ; length 12 or 14 inches ; and its weight 
3-4ths of a pound or more. Its food is nuts, eggs, corn, and 
little animals, such as chickens and mice ; and no cat will clear 
a house of rats like a weasel. Its number at a birth is from three 
to five — still they are more scarce than most of this genus, ex- 
cept the Otter.''^ 

chuckf The Woodchuckf is about 14 inches in length, its legs short, 

with paws well-formed for digging its own burrows ; its body 
round, thick and fat, its colour brown ; and its fecundity is 4 or 
5 at a birth. The flesh of the animal is eatable, but it is too 
greasy, and tastes too much of the ground to be palatable. 

BIRDS. 

Birdi. In Natural History, no department is more truly engaging than 

that of the Ornithologist. The varieties, the plumage, the notes, 
the sprightliness, the region of the bird, are subjects upon which 
the mind dwells with pleasure. But so numerous are those in 
Maine, that nothing more can be done here than to mention their 
kinds and species, and make an occasional observation. One 
great division of them is into the land or cleft-footed, and the web- 
footed, or waterfowl ; another is that of the songsters and of 
those without a singing voice ; and it is observable, that the best 
singers sometimes leave the thickets of the forest for the open 
lands or fields of the cultivator, apparently ambitious of chanting 
their notes to his ear. 

* A weasel-skin, worn around the throat, with the fur out, will relieve 
those afflicted with the asthma. 

t Urtivel Mustelae species.— Ltn. Monax dc Bujfon. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 141 

The Boblincon^ is a well known meadow bird, always full of 
life and chatter, called in the southern States the Rice-bird. 

Tiie Cherry-bird-f is of a light blue colour, crested, and large 
as a barn-swallow. Flocks of this species are seen on black 
cherry-trees when the fruit is ripe, of which they are immoder- 
ately fond. 

The Crceper\ is a little woodland bird, very coy and harm- 
less. Also the Nuthatch^ is a small bird of the pye sort. 

Of the Cuckoo kind\\ we have two species, viz. 1. the Cuckoo ruckoog^- 

nus. 

itseJj, a brown coloured woodland bird, as large as a thrasher j 
it frequents orchards and the margin of woods : 2. The JV/ietsaw, 
which is a little larger and darker than a blue-jay ; its notes are 
like the gratings in whetting a saw. It frequents logging camps ; 
and is thought to be the same as the Bird-hawk, tliough as to tliis 
naturalists differ. 

The Cross-bill^ is larger than a sparrow, and is of an olive 
colour : the upper and lower parts of its beak cross each other 
like a pair of scissors, and thus enable it to cut off the stalks 
of wheat and rye ; it then lays down its head sidewise to pick 
and take the kernels. 

Of the Dove kind** we have two species, 1. the Turtle Dove, Dovegenui. 
2. the wild Pigeon. Those of the latter are very numerous ; 
the male and female always pair, set alternately on the eggs, and 
liatch two at once, several times in the season. The wild Pig- 
cons are excellent for the table : they come in the spring from 
the southern and western slates, select beech and hemlock land, 
where they stay during the summer : several of their nests are 
often seen on the same tree, and their fecundity is supposed to 
exceed that of any other fowl. 

On our coast is seen a much greater number of the Duck kind-f-f j^^jckMoui 

* Emberiza Oryzivora. f Ampelis Gamiliis. 

t Ccrlhia Pinns. { Silta Canadensis. 

I 1. Ciiciiliis Ainericaniis. — 2. Cuculus Olius, Lunirus, Canadensis. 

If Loxia Curvirostra or Loxia Rcstrofoiscator. 

** 1. Coluinba Turtxir?. — 2. Columba Migratoria. 

t+ JJwcA-.— 1. AnasBernicla.— 2. Anas Fiisca. — 3. Anas Nigra. — 4. Anas 

Spcctabilis. — 5. Anas Cinerca. — 6. Anas Albcola. — 7. Anas Mollissima. 

8. Anas Penelope. 9. Anas Acuta, — 10. Anas Arborea.— 11. Anat 

Sponsa.— 12. An:is II istrionica? — 13. Anas Sirepera.— 14. Anas Biicepba- 

la — 15. Anas Fcrina.— 16. Anas Discors 17. Anas Migratoria. — 18. 

Ana« Clangula. — 19. Anas Moralia. 



142 THE BIRDS [IntRODUC. 

Duckgcnus than of any other fowl; there being in all no less than nineteen 
species. 1. The Brant ; 2. brown Coot ; 3. black Duck Coot ; 
4. whitehead Coot) 5. the river Coot, or ash coloured Duck; 
6. the Dipper; 7. the sea Duck ; 8. the gray Duck; 9. the 
sprig tail Duck, or Mallard; 10. the wood Duck; 11. the 
crested wood Duck ; 12. Lord and Lady, or JVoddy ; 13. Old- 
wife; 14. Qiiindar ; 15. red head Quindar ; 16. blue wing 
Teal; 17. green wing Teal; 18. Whistler; 19. Widgeon; 
all which are webfooted. 

A Brant is a large bird of passage, of gray colour, and in size 
about half-way between a black duck and a wild goose; it is 
found around our bays, lakes and ponds. 

The wJiite head Coot is black, with some w^hite on its head and 
midway of its wings ; and each of the Cool species has a short 
tail, and lives about the shores of the salt water. 

The Dipper is always diving and dipping for fish ; and, when on 
the water, appears larger than the largest species of teal, and is 
nearly as good for the table as a duck. 

The Lord and Lady, or jYoddy^^ is as large as a pigeon, good 
for food ; has a brown back and cream-coloured breast, and feeds 
on small muscles, snails and insects. Its perpetual whiflles with 
the wings when flying, give it name. 

Old-wife's notes are in sound like shrill scolding, as heard from 
this bird often in the night time. Its flesh is brown like beef, 
about as good as that of a duck, and is itself almost as large. 

Of the two Teals, the green wing is the larger ; both are very 
fine for the table, and about two-thirds the size of a domestic 
duck. 

A Whistler is about as large as a Dipper : And the Widgeon 
is supposed to be the same as a wood duck ; the female lays her 
eggs in some hollow tree, and when her young are hatched, she 
carries them to the water side, where she rears them up to full 
size. 

We reckon two species of the Falcon kind ;f 1. the Bird- 

Falcon PC* 

iiu» hawk ; and 2d, the Kingbird. The latter is a most active and 

courageous little creature, not fearing to make war even upon 
the hawk and crow. 

* Some think this the fcfea-swalJow. 

f 1. Laiiius Canadensis. — 2. Lanii:s Tyrannus : " tho least of tho falcon 
tribe." — litei'' Encycloft'Jia. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. . 143 

There seem to be two kinds of the Finch ;* one has with usTwnkin<l« 

i>r l**tllCl>Ct. 

these three species: 1. the Goldfinch or Golden Rolin ; 2. the 
Hing-hird ; and 3. tlie Redwing Dlnckbird. The hist is the 
malo onlv of tlie same species ; the female is smaller, of a dirty 
brown, and has no red on its wings. The two former hang their 
nests under the limb, where it is forked. The Goldfinch is 
shorter bodied, but thicker than the yellow bird ; its plumage is 
of a beautiful bright orange colour, and its voice is quite me- 
lodious. 

Of the other Finch kind\ we have five species : 1 . the Chef.- 
loeeh, or Pewit ; 2. the Chipping Bird ;| 3. the JVinter Spar- 
row ; 4. the Yellow Bird, and 5. the Spring Bird. The Pi' 
ioit, or Chcewcch, lives in the summer months about barns and 
old buildings, where the swallows have nests, in which she lays 
lier eggs with theirs. The Spring Bird is larger than a chip- 
ping bird, and is one of the very first to sing the vernal song 
The other species are small, very pretty and well known. 

Tliere is a crenus whose leadinir name seems to be that of'^''""<"^ 
Fly-cntcher,'^ of whicli there arc five species; 1. the brown^-^- 
Fly-catcher; 2. {he c-estcd Fli/-rntcher ; 3. the Cat-bird; 4. 
the ILdge-bird, and 5. the Yellow crown. 

The brown Fly-catcher is as big as a swallow, of a dove-col- 
our, with while on its belly. One of them, in July, entered a 
gentleman's chamber, wlio informed me, that though the /lies 
were numerous, in consequence of sickness, the bird caught them 
or cleared ihoin all out of the clinmbcr in one day. 

All untamed Gecse,^ with us, are birds of passage; of which Sppc>< of 
kind we have seen three species, — 1. the wild^ or black Goose; 
2. the bluish Goose, and 3. the ichite Goose. 

The several species of the Goose and the Brant, pass north- 
ward in March and southward in November. In their journics 
they travel in flocks from thirty to sixty together, and their 



* Finches, 1st kinJ ; 1. Orioliis Dallimoriis : But, query, if found La this 
Slate. — '.'. Orioliis Icterus.—:?. Orioius IMiacniccus. 

t Finclics, 2<1 kind; 1. Friiifrilla Er\ lliropthalina — 2. Frinjilla ?— or 
Passer jcnus.— 3. Friiigilla Grisca.— 4. Friiijilia Tristis— 5. Frinj ilia — . 
I Qiiffirc, if the Chipping bird does not belong to the Sparrow kind ? 

} 1. IMiiscicapa Fusca— 2. Muscicapa Crinita.— 3. iMuscicapa Carolinen- 
«i8.' — 4. Muscicapa Caoadcnsis.' — 5. Muscicapa Flava. 
H I. Anser Canadensii.— S. Anser Caerulescent.— 3. AD»«r Crythropm. 



144 THE BIRDS [InTRODUC. 

height, regularity, and swiftness in flight, are well known. Their 
summer habitations are about our great lakes, in this State 
and elsewhere, northward. Incredible numbers go to the " Great 
Bog," 200 miles northeastwardly of Quebec. George Bussick, 
who, about half an age since, was eight or nine years with the 
Penobscot tribe of Indians, and an interpreter, says he went to the 
latter place three successive years, after feathers, where he found 
wild Geese, Brants, black Ducks, and Curlews. The Great 
Bog is an extensive quagmire, on which the fowler cannot walk, 
but works along his canoe from one hummock to another, and 
smites the fowls on their nests. He has sometimes killed five 
with his paddle, without moving his canoe. About the year 
1800, a broken flock of 8 or 9 white Geese, in the spring, light- 
ed on the Island Metinicus, of which Mr. Young, one of 
the Islanders, killed three and his neighbours killed the residue. 
They were entirely white and as large as a gander of our do- 
mestic flocks. 
Grouse ge- Of the Grouse kind'^ we have four species. — 1. The Grouse; 
2. the Partridge ; 3. the spruce Partridge, and 4. the Quail. 

The Grouse is seldom seen, except about our highest moun- 
tains, and is probably the same as the Heath-cock of Linneaus. 
Its head and neck is marked with alternate bars of red and 
black ; it feeds on bilberries and other mountain fruits, and 
weighs from two to four pounds. They never pair ; but when 
the male, in the spring, from an eminence claps his wings and 
crows, all the females within hearing resort to him. 

The spruce Partridge is of a dark brown, has a short tail, 
and the male has a heart-form upon his breast of two inches 
in length. The flesh of this species is equal in goodness to the 
other, though the body is not so large. Q^uails are not with us 
so plenty as in the other States of New-England : Indeed, 
they are very seldom if ever seen in the eastern parts, and many 
think the spruce Partridges are the same. 
Gulls. Gidls-f are very common on our coast ; their bill is straight, 

only hooked at the tip, and is destitute of teeth. They feed on 
fish and worms and are always about the water. Their body is 

* 1. Tetrao tetrix. — 2. Tctrao Marilandicus. — 3. Tetrao Canadensis. — 
4. Tetrao Virjinianiis. 

f 1. I>arus CandiduG. — 2. Larus Mariniis. — 3. Larus Ridibundus. — 4. 
Sterna Ilinmdo. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 145 

liglit and iheir wings long ; and when terrified, it is said, they 

will cast up all their indigested food. "Though the species of 

tliis genus are not very clearly discriminated," owing to the 

changes of plumage in different stages of their growth till the 

third year; yet we suppose there arc with us four, viz. 1. the 

ivliite Gull ; 2. tlic eagle Gull ; 3. the mackerel, or fishing 

Gull ; 4. the swallow-tail Gull, or JMcdrake. The mackerel 

Gull is nearly as large as a goose ; and the JMedrake is as large 

as a black duck and good for the table. The others are plenty 

about our seashores, and not poor food. 

Of the Hawk kind,* we have six species, and two varieties : Hawk ge- 
nus. 
1 and 2. the bald and the brown Eagle ;\ 3. the great brown 

Hawk; 4. the hen Hawk ; 5. the pigeon Hawk; and G. the 
jishing Hawk. They arc all rapacious ; and it is said to be a 
noted lact that all female birds of prey are much larger, strong- 
er, and more courageous, than the males. 

The character of the Heron kind consists in having the bill Heron go- 
straight, pointed, long, sub-compressed, with a furrow from the 
nostrils towards the tip, the nostrils linear, tongue sharp, feet 
four-toed and cleft, and the toes connected at the base ; of which 
we reckon five species, J 1 and 2. the blue and the ivhite Heron ; 
3. the Crane; 4. the Stork,'^ and 5. the Skouk. 

It is said, the blue Heron is crested, and has on its breast a 
large spot with two growths of feathers, the under one is soft 
and short as the down of geese, and is of an otter colour, and in 
the night time has a bright appearance like touchwood. The 
Crane has a long neck and long legs, and is of a lead-colour. 
The Skouk is as large bodied as a partridge, its legs blue, its 
back slate-coloured and ill shaped — and is vulgarly called a 
" shite-poke." 

The Humming bird\\ is the smallest and fleetest of the feath- 

* 1. Falco Leiicoccplialus. — 2. Falco Fulvus. — 3. Falco Iludsonius. — 4. 
Falco S|)arvcrriiis. — 5. Falco CcJumbariiis. — G. Falco Ilaliaelus. 

I It lias been asserted that an eagle will live 100 years. 

I 1. Arilca Caenilea.— 2. Ardea Alba.— 3. Ardea Canadensis. — J. Ar- 
dea Ciconia. — 5. Ardea Virescens. 

J The Stork is a bird of passagfe, the white one has naked eyeballs, its 
beak and I'cct arc of a blood-red colour; it is a great enemy to reptiles ; 
its disposition is mild, neither very sly nor savage ; it is easily tamed. It 
lias a mournful visage and grave air, though sagacious. 

1) Passer : — (ioldsmUh. Trochilut colubris. — Lin. 



146 

Heron j 
nus. 



Larks. 



Loons. 



THE BIRDS [IntrODUC, 

ered race. It derives its name from the hum its wings make 
when it flies. Of a full grown one which 1 have carefully ex- 
amined, the length from the crown to the end of the tail-feathers, 
is less than three inches ; its body one inch long, and twice that 
in circumference, measuring around the wings. From the body 
to the end of the longest feather of the wing, is about one inch 
and 3-4th. Its feathers are of the softest down ; their colour 
near the skin, on the back and sides, is of a dark bright brown, 
changing to a beautiful golden green towards and at their ends. 
Tliose on the belly are tipped with white, or lightbrown, and 
appear beautifully clouded. The bill of the Humming bird is 
black, 3-4ths of an inch in length, the ujiper and lower part about 
as large as a common sewing needle ; its tongue is most peculiar, 
resembling towards its end a split hair, formed to sip sweets from 
the cups of the smallest flowers. Its legs are covered with down 
to the feet, which have severally four claws or toes, and which are 
curving and very sharp. 

The Kiagjisher^ is plenty. It stays all winter about fresh 
waters, and in the spring builds its nest in the banks. It is heavy 
as a plover, has a long bill, its head is crested with red, its back is 
of a blue colour ; and though it is not webfooted, its toes grow 
near together, and it dives after fish. 

We have two species of the Lark kmd,\ 1. the Skylark, and 
2. the jMarshlar'c ; well known elegant birds, and sweet songs- 
ters. It is said this kind will live 16 years. 

The red Linnet,'^ is about as large as a Goldfinch but has 
longer feathers ; and its wings and tail have some black, other- 
wise its plumage is a most beautiful dark scarlet. It nests in the 
margin of the woods. 

Loons^ are very common on the seaboard : they are of a 
bluish colour, have a large head and will weigh 12 or 15 pounds 
after being dressed. What is remarkable in them is, their hip- 
joints grow so fast to the body as to be immoveable, so that they 
cannot step on the land ; they are of two species, 1. hroicn throat 
Loon and 2. sea Loon. 



f 1. Alauda Alpestris.— 2. Alauda Majna. 



* Alcedo Alcyon. 

\ Tanagra Rubra. 

(1. ColymbusSeptentrionalis.— 2. Colymbus Immer. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 147 

Of the Owl* wc liavc four species, viz. 1. the horned; 2. Owi$. 
the white ; 3. the speckled, and 4, the barn, or screech Owl. 

The Pelican^ hind is of two species, both wtbfooted, and birds ,, ,. 
of ptissage. 1. tlie Pelican itself, wliich is rarely seen ; 2. the 'i''""*- 
Sharr^ which is Iar2;cr than a black duck, will weigh 3 pounds, 
— its colour is a dark gray. 

The Plovcrs'l are common on our shores, and iiave been class- p|„vpr 
cd in five species. — 1. The blac': breast Plover; 2. vpland'-^''""*' 
Plover; S. htrgc spotted Plover; 4. the Kildeer ; and 5. the 
Oxeyc. The third species is large as a Teal, and has yellow legs; 
its flesh is fat and good for food. The upland Plover is larger 
t!iaa a robin. The Kildeer is a long-legged drooping bird, not 
seen often in this quarter. The Oxeye is a little tottering shore- 
bird, large as a martin. 

The Peep^ is a little land-bird, with small body, wings long 
and large for its size. 

The 7'c^/-c/,|| or Mother Carey^s ChicLcns, is as large as a 
black martin ; its crying, or peeping, is considered by mariners 
as indicative of a storm. IF 

Of the Raven Kind** are two species, — 1. the Croiv,j-f and Rnvpn 
2. t!ie Blue-jay; both of which are common inhabitants of this' 
State and well known. 

*l.Strix Bubo. — 2. Strix Nyctca,— 3. -trix .Aliico. — 4. Slrix Passerine. 

1 1. Pclicaniis Onacratalus. — 2. Pclicamis Occi Icntalis. — 3. Policanus 
Craculiis. A live Pclicm about as \:\r^c as a uilil j^oose, was taken in Ibe 
Kciinebeck river in tbc spring' of l^i'G, two miles above liulii. lis habits 
are indolent, it does not often iiiigratc so far nortli. 

J 1. Ciiaradriijs (Gr.) Apricarius. — 2. Cbararirius Tctradactjius. — 3. 
CbaraJrius Maculatus. — 4. Cbaradrius Vociferus. — 5. Charadrius Alexan- 
driniis. 

( Ralius CaroJinns. Il.Proc?llaria Pelajica. 

H In one of liic cluster, called North Seals and i\Iiid Island, olf Cape Sa- 
J)ie, Nova Scotia, thousan U of Petrels, or Jlothrr Carnfs Chickrn.t, annual- 
ly halth their younpf. They burrow under {ground dianfonally, three or 
four feet deep, and sit on one v<is: '< flittiri;;- about the surface, in astonishing- 
nuiiihcrs, searching for food and casting a sickly foetid ciTluvia. ?saturalisls 
have attributed to this little winged mariner -the projKirty of breeding' its 
young on the wafer, by delivering its egg and diving to catch it under the 
wing, where the young one is said to be liatchcd. —LocA-u'ood'j ^Vora Siotia, 
p. SI. 

*■= 1. Corvus Corax. — 2. Corvus Cristatus. 
ttC5rucuIa quiscaia. Crov Blackbird. 



148 

Species of 
the Razor- 
bill. 



Shelldrake. 



Snipe genus 



Sparrow 
genus. 



Swallow 
genus. 



THE BIRDS [InTRODUC. 

The family of the Razor-bill* containing three species, which 
are seen here, — viz. 1 . the Penguin ;f 2. Murr, and 3. the 
sea Parrot, are all webfooted. The Penguin is as large as a 
domestic fowl ; the Murr has a short neck ; and is smaller. 

We have three species of the Shelldrake,'^ or Water Raven, 

1. the Cream-coloured; 2. the Red-bellied, and 3. the Pied 
Shelldrake : all of which are webfooted, almost always in or on 
the water, large as a black duck, and good for the trencher. 

We have four species and two varieties of the Snipe :§ 1 and 

2. the Woodcock and Wood Snipe ; 3 and 4. the gray and 
large speckled Curlew : their flesh is fine flavoured, no wood- 
land bird pleases the epicurean's taste better. The Curlews 
have long legs and crooked bills, are big as a partridge, and are 
birds of passage. 

Of the Sparrow tribe,^ we will name three species, though 
the discriminating classis among naturalists is not very perfect. 
1. the Chipping bird, or domestic Sparrow ; 2. the little field 
Sparrow, or Ground bird ; 3. the Snow bird. It is difficult to 
know where to class this latter species ; it is certain no one is 
more hardy, for it stays with us from autumn to spring ; no one 
serves so much to enliven the cold and stormy days of winter : 
for then they often appear in flocks of 30 or 40, all cheerful and 
sprightly. Their flesh is fine and delicate, but their bodies are 
too small to cook. Possibly the Starling,''^ a larger bird, is of 
the same species : though it may be one of another family ; or 
taken for the red linnet. 

We have five species and two varieties of the Swallow kind ;** 



* 1. Alea Impennis, — 2. Alea Torda. — 3. Alea Artica. 

I Our Penguin is anotlier than the Anser J\lagellaneous not so large, 
and different. It lays a single egg, and burrows like a rabbit. 

\ 1. Mergus Merganser. — 2, Mergus Serrator. — 3. Mergus Castor. 
h 1. Scolopax (Gr,) Rusticola — 2. Scolopax Fedoa, — 3, Scolopax Teta- 
nus. — 4. Scolopax Lapponica. 

II 1, Passer Domesticus. — 2. Passer Agrestis. — 3, Passer Nivalis. — Bart. ; 
alias Emberiza Hyemalis. — Lin. 

IT Of the Sparrow-kind. — Goldsmith. Quere, if the Starling be found 
in this State. 

** 1. Hirundo riparia. — 2. Hirundo rustica, — 3. Hirundo pelasgia canda- 
aculeata. — 4. Hirundo purpurea, — 5. Hirundo urbria, — These] appear 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 149 

1, 2, and 3. the hanh, the barn, and the chimney Sivallota ; and 
4, and 5. the black and the small Martin. The coming of these 
birds is considered tlie indicative finale of spring. The chimney 
Swallow comes the first of either ; and the bank Swallow is the 
smallest of the whole. Its hole into the sand banks of rivers, 
where it nests, is sometimes two feet in length. The blade Alar- 
tin is the largest of the Swallow race ; it appears the latest and 
leaves the earliest. The Swallows are all torpid during the win- 
ter ; some have been found in the bottoms of ponds, others in 
the hollows of large trees ; and it is known, that they go into 
winter-quarters in considerable flocks and on a particular day. 

It is understood that, 1. the Fox-colonrcd Thrush; 2. the Thrusli ge- 

nu$. 

Thrasher, or JMocLbircl ; and 3. the Robin, are species of the 
Thrush family ;* and few upland birds arc more inoffensive or 
musical, or better known among us. 

Of the Titmouse tribe,-f we may mention these species: 1. Titmouse 
ihe crested Titmouse; 2. the blue Titmouse; 3. Toomtcet ; 4. 
yellow rump Toomteet ; and 5. Little Hang-bird. These are 
all very small birds. 

All the species of the Trinrr kindt arc unwcbbcd, and not '^'''"S K®- 
large bodied : they are, 1. the Humility; 2. the Marsh-bird ; 
3. the Rock-bird ; and 4. the Beach or Sand-bird. The Hu- 
mility has long yellow legs, long neck, is gray spotted, frequents 
the shores of ponds and of salt water, wades after small fish, and 
is nearly as large as a pigeon. The Marsh-bird is as large as a 
martin, has long wings and is very fat. A Bench, or Sand-bird 
is about the size of a swallow, coloured white and gray ; its flesh 
is eatable, though of a fishy flavour. 

We have several species of Wagtails;^ — viz. 1. the crested \\^r\,\*j%. 
Wren; 2. the common Wren; 3. the Blue-bird; 4. the 
Grape-bird, and 5. the Water-icngtail. 

The Waterwitch is as large as a pigeon ; its beak of a slatc- 



nbout the 25th of April, and depart the 20th of September. The martins 
depart earlier. 

* 1. TiirdtiR Rufus. — 2. Tnrdiis Orpheus. — 3. Turdiis Mipratoriiis ? 

f 1. Pariis Bicolor. — 2. Pann Americanus. — 3. Panis Atricapilliis. — t, 
Parus Virginianiis — 5. Pariis ptnduliniis. 

I 1. Tringa Intcrprcs.— 2. Tringa INIorincila.— 3. Tringa Mncnlata.— J. 
Trinpa Arcnaria. 

ij 1. Motacilla KeguliiK.— 2. Motacilla Trocliilus.— 3. Molacilla Sialis.— 
4. Motacilla Iclcroccphala.— 5. Molacilla r 



150 THE FISHES [InTRODUC. 

colour, and its breast of a creain-colour ; its hip-joint, like that 
of a loon, is fast ; its sight and motion is so exceedingly quick, 
that it will repeatedly catch the flash of the gun and avoid the 
shot. 

Woodpcck- The JVoodpecler-famili/^' is so large with us, that we reckon 
seven species; — viz. 1. the great red crested, 2. the swallow- 
tailed, 3. the red head, 4. the ivhite hack, 5. the ivooUy bac'c^ 
6. the tvhite tnil, and 7 the specUed JVoodpecktr. The quills 
in the tail of this genus are about half an inch in length, without 
feathers, but sharp, like those of a porcupine. With these, 
pointed and thrust into the bark, they hold and rest themselves 
while drumming. The Yellow-hammer is also a Woodpecker. 
We have also the Whip-poor-will, and the JVight Hawk, which 

Mil.. certamly belong to the same genus, f and ornithologists haves 

long doubted if they are not in fact one and the same bird. The 
celebrated Bartram thinks them so ; and I am told, that a fowler 
having killed one, while singing " whip-poor-will," was satisfied^ 
on investigation, that the singer is the male and the Night Hawk 
is the female. It is said this bird lives 1 6 or 1 8 years. 

Besides the 146 species mentioned, there are several others^ 

Fio'T-raicii- the genus of which is not known ; as the Frog-catcher, also .the 

jj^.^jjgi Hagdel, of a dark brown colour, about as large as a Murr, though 
its feathers are longer. It is webfooted, follows vessels, and feeds 
on fish-ofild and the refuse of cookery ; also, the Moose-birdy 
which feeds on the berries of the moose bush, and stays through 
the winter. Nor is it probable that the whole number has been 
mentioned in the preceding account; and some, which are com- 
mon in other parts of New-England, are seldom here; particu- 
larly the ivild Turley. A few, however, have been shot in the 
western parts of this State. 



FISHES. 

Fishes. In our salt and fresh waters are found about sixty species of fishy 

and, generally, they are abundant in numbers. Some are warm- 
blooded, some amphibious, some without bones, and some without 



• 1. Picus Pileatus. — 2. Picus Piruadcnaceu?. — 3 Picus Erythrccepaliis. — 
4. Picus Anratiis.— 5. Picus Piibescens. — 6. Picus Villosus. — 7. Picus Ma- 
culosus. 
f 1. Caprimulgus Europacus. — 2. Capriraulg-us Americanus, [Night Ilawk J 



Sect, r.] of Maine. 151 

scales — diiTeremly classed by diflciciit IcthyoJo foists. In the fol- 
lowing arrangement, the genera are iilplutbelicai, and in each arc 
the several species found among us. 

Of the Bknny liml* we mention — 1. the Catfish; 2. the ['/^^'i"*' 
Snn/^e-fish, and 3. the Wolf-JhJu\ '*^""'"' "''»• 

The Catjhh has four teeth, two below and two above, which rmfi^h. 
set together like those of a rat or squirrel. Its colour is dark- 
brown, its head round, and, from its middle to its tail, its body 
tapers like that of an eel. It is two feet in length. It has large 
wing-fins like a sculpion ; in other respects it looks much like a 
cusk. It has no scales, will bite at a hook, and will weigh from 
5 to 1 5 pounds, but is too rank and strong for the table. It is 
found in om bays in abundance. 

The body of the JVoIf-Jhh is round and slender, the head large \V..lffi-i». 
and blunt, the foreteeth, above and below, conical ; those in the 
palate, and the grinders, round ; and the fm covering the gill has 
six rays. 

Of the Cod [or Gac^ kind of Fish, J we have seven species, ond kind. 
viz. 1. the Cod; 2. the Iladdoc'; 3. the VoUoc-^ ; 4. the 
small Volloc!: ; 5. the lLi!,c ; G. the Frost fish; and 7. the 
Cus\: 

The Codfsh is caught abundantly in the waters off our*"'"'^''- 
seaboard, from one corner of the State to the other, perhaps equal 
to 20,000 quintals in a year. They are generally found near tlic 
ground in the deep waters of havs, but have been taken in Marsh 
bay, [Penobscot,] thougli they are never foinul in fresh water. 
They feed on muscles, shrimps and clams ; but the best bait for 
them is herring. They arc without scales and their individual 
weight is from 5 to 75 pounds. They are said to spawn in coves 
and at the mouths of rivers, during the twelve days of Christmas.^ 

The llnddoc!< are companions of the Codfish, and are found •^■"'^ock. 
in the salt water of our shores, as far eastward as Mount Desert. 



* 1. Bleniiiiis Cliactodon. — 2. Blcnuius An^iiillarius. 

f .'\narl)iclias hipiis — Golilsmilh. 

\\ Cailns INIorliua. — 2. GaJiis aq;-lcsitnis. — .3. Gadus polacliii:s. — 4. Ga 
diis vircns?— 5. Gadus molva. — G. Gadiis lusciis. — 7. Gadus , 

\ Cn/damilfi sai/s, [4 \o\. p. 22o,] •> wlicn (licir provision [on tlic Grand 
Baiikf-] is cxliaiistcd, or llie season for propagation rctunis, tlity go olF lo 
tlie polar seas." — I'ut they arc found en our co^.sts in all seasons of Iho 
year. 



Pollock. 



152 THE BIRDS [InTRODUC. 

They are scaled, and are of a light brown colour, with black 
stripes from head to tail on each side of the back, commencing 
a little after the nape, or gill fins, in spots of black, shaped like 
the ball of a man's thumb. The Haddock is shaped like 
a codfish, though with a larger head, and two back fins towards 
the tail ; it weighs from five to twelve pounds, is finer flavoured 
than a codfish, harder and less easy to break when dry, and con- 
sequently to be preferred for shipping. 

The Pollock is plentiful, especially about the bays of Passa- 
maquoddy and the Isle of Holt. It is shaped much like a Sal- 
mon and is scaled ; its sides are of a bluish cast, its back is dark- 
er, its belly a muddy white, its length from 20 to 30 inches, and 
weight from 10 to 25 lbs. It is very good, dressed and dried, 
though not so good as a codfish when fresh, being of a coarser 
grain. It is excessively fond of herring, and will collect together 
and hem in shoals of them, in the eddies about the flats, and at 
slack tide feast upon them. 

The small Pollock are generally found In our harbours, and 
are exactly the same as the other, only smaller, weighing from 
four ounces to three pounds. Some think they are the half- 
grown young of the true Pollock. 

The Hake, Cod and Haddock are often caught, cured and 
sold together. The Hake is a scaled fish ; its length and 
weight are almost as great as those of a codfish ; it is tougher 
than a haddock and not so fine flavoured. Its outside is coloured 
variously, some are rather of a dun-red, others are of a muddy 
brown with white bellies. Its head is much like that of a cod- 
fish, except that its mouth and jaws are formed like a crescent, 
full of fine teeth which are very sharp. Its body tapers from 
the head to the draught ; thence to the tail-fin, the taper is much 
more gradual ; and it is finned mostly like a cusk, both on the 
back and belly. Abundance of them has been taken within 
three leagues of Castine. They are caught with hooks ; and the 
best hours for the business are in the fore and latter part of the 
night. 

The Frostjish, sometimes called Tom-cod, are found about the 
bays and mouths of the rivers in the summer, and in the winter 
they inhabit fresh vi-aters. They are shaped and finned like a 
codfish and coloured like a silver eel, scaled and fine flavoured. 
They are very small, weighing only from 8 to 18 ounces. They 



Hake 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 153 

are plenty every where, but found in the greatest abundance about 
Narragnagus, Pleasant river, and in thai quarter. In places 
where they are so very plenty, they are caugin and stacked in 
December and January, and afterwards cut and given fresh to 
cattle. 

Tiie Cusk deserved a place prior to the frostfish, for it is su- q^^^^ 
periour and found only in salt water — weighing from 5 to 20 
pounds. It is shaped much like a catfish ; its head is round, 
with jaws full of small teeth ; its body is generally two feet in 
length, more or less, according to its size, very solid ; its liver 
only is fat as in a codfish. Though not so pleasant to the taste 
as the cod, it makes good " chowder," and no dry fish is better, 
especially when it is three years old. It dwells with the cod, 
though seldom found in so deep water. A fresh water Cusk is 
said to be plenty in Moosehead lake. 

This is the family of the Codfish, and none other is so univer- 
sally esteemed for the table. 

The Eds are plenty in our waters ; of which we have two 
kinds, and two species in each kind : the two species of one kind, 
viz. 1. Z/«mj3rej/,* and 2. Sea-sucker,-f are certainly amphibi- 
ous ; those of the other, — viz. 1 . the silver Eel,'l and 2. the 
Conger Eel^ are liie best for food. The bat, the eel, the swal- 
low, the turtle, the frog, the toad and the serpent have been com- 
monly called " the seven sleepers." || 

The Lamprey is without bone ; and one of three feet, a com- j ., 
mon length, will weigh 3 pounds and will cleave so fast to a rock, ^'^^^' 
when pulled, as to take one up of 4 pounds. It is darker col- 
oured and less slimy than a silver eel ; it is cylindrical and large 
as a man's wrist to its bastard fins, which begin about midway of 
its length and continue to the tail. Its skin is so tightly ingrained 
with the flesh that it cannot be taken off; and it has 9 or 10 eye- 
let-holes, as large as a pea, on each side of its back. It has no 
teeth, but large gooms and sucker-mouth ; with which some of 
the smaller ones often fasten themselves to a salmon, or shad, and 
are tlius carried up the falls. 



mprey 



* Pctromyzon FInviatalis. f Petromyzon Marinus. 

I Muraena Anguilla. 5 Muraena Conger. 

II The Blenny aud Eel kind bring forth their young alive. 

Vol I. U 



154 THE FISHES [IntrODUC. 

During the last ten years, they have not been found in such 
abundance in the main rivers as formerly, though they are now 
plenty in the Piscataquis; — they are taken in the spring and 
summer months. They spawn in May or June ; and afterwards 
attach themselves to logs, roots and stones, near where they cast 
their spawn, and there gradually perish, mortifying from tail to 
head. From the back may be drawn a sinew which, when 
stretched, is thrice the length of the body, and makes as tough a 
counter-string for a violin as catgut. They are caught at the falls 
with spears, gafts, hooks without bait and even with the hands 
covered with mittens, to prevent their escape. 

The Silver Eels, found in both- salt and fresh water, are taken 
Silver Eels, at all scasons of the year, and are very good for food : They aire 
speared in the winter and taken by hooks in the summer. They, 
like the Lamprey, are without bones and scales, and are about 
the same size, though some of them will weigh 6 pounds. They 
have two fins near their gills, another on the back, which runs to 
the tail, as on a cusk or catfish. Their young is seen about the 
first of June, two inches in length and about as large as a small 
wire, and almost transparent. But how do they procreate their 
species, since neither spawn, eggs, nor young, are found in them 
at any season of the year ? 

The Conger Eels are caught in our bays and salt waters of 
Ee"/*"^ our rivers. They have a round head, also teeth, and otherwise 
look much like a catfish, only slimmer ; one of two feet is a com- 
mon length, being only as large as a man's wrist. They bed in 
tlie mud like other eels, and when well cooked, they are received 
into the stomach with a good relish. Their natural colour is 
yellowish, but what is remarkable, they will, when dyings change 
their hues, or shades, to a pale green or faint purple. 

Not long before the close of the last century, a French mer- 
chantman, in xhe autumn, grounded on the flats, a league below 
Bucksport, in Eastern river ; and as she settled down with the 
ebb, her sides rested on a large bed of Conger eels, which being 
thus ousted of their settlements, were taken by the mariners and 
found to be very grateful to the taste and stomach. 

Flounder The Flouiider family * embraces five species, 1 . the flat 
kind. ___^ 

* 1. Pleuronecles Flesiis. — 2. Pleurouectes Platessa. — 3. Pleuronectes 
llippojipssus.— 4. rieuror.ectcs Papillosus.— 5- Pleuronectes gquatma. 



Sect, v.] OF MAINE. 155 

Flounder, 2. the Plaice, 3. the Halibut, 4. the Dab, and 0. the 
Skate, 

Tlic Flounder Is exchislvely a scaled salt water fish, and is Flounder. 
found near the bottoms in coves and rivers, and conscqtiently 
tastes too much of their muddy beds to be palatable. It has a 
black back and a very white belly ; one of a common size is 
about 12 inches in length and 1 and l-4th of an inch thick; it 
has two black fins on its sidewise back, near its head, and a white 
one near the throat : and 4 inches from the head, on the back 
and belly, are the roots of its tail-fins, running nearly to the roots 
of the fan-fin at the end of the tail, which is in length and width 
about two inches. The peculiarity of this family is its mouth. 
The Flounder's is not horizontal, but about half way between 
that and a perpendicular ; that is, an angle of 45° from the 
ground ; and hence it seems to lie on one side. 

The Plaice is such another, though without scales, smaller and piaice. 
too strong to be fit for the table. It is lighter coloured than a 
flounder and less plenty, and dwells in the same places. One of 
a common size will weigh a pound. 

The //rt/Ziu/ is a large scale fish, weighing from 10 to 200 naHbut. 
pounds, commonly about 75 pounds. It is found in considerable 
abundance off our coasts, about the bays and Islands, and espe- 
cially on the Grand Banks, but only in salt water. The colour 
of its back is a dark slate, its belly white, and extending only 
one foot from the gills, is very short, inclosing a small quantum of 
entrails. One of 75 pounds is six feet long, between 2 and 3 
feet across, as it lies like a flounder apparently on one side, and 
only 6 inches through the junk in thickness. Its mouth makes 
an angle of 70^ with the horizon ; its fins are on each of its sides, 
extending two inches into the body to the joint, and terminating 
6 inches above the roots of the tail : the flesh, on those called 
" Halibut-fins," are fat and when fresh very palatable ; as are 
also its head and nape. They are taken with hooks, but are dif- 
ficult to handle owing to their flat shape. 

The Skate swims like a flounder, is without scales and quite gi^^,^ 
short, being not more than three feet in length ; yet it is two feet 
or more in breadth, and will weigh 30 pounds ; though their 
sizes are variable, — from 5 to 50 pounds- Its tail, two feet in 
length like that of a land tortoise, is very rough and full of 



156 THE FISHES [IntRODUC. 

prickles ; near which, on each side, it has something hke two legs, 
8 inches or more in length, with which it can clasp hold of sub- 
stances : it has fins on both sides hke the skirts of a saddle ; 
it is seldom eaten. 

Lumpfish, The Lumpjish^ is naturally a clumsy creature and is found 
only in salt water, mostly about the westerly coast of the State. 
It has a prominence on the back like that of a camel, and as 
large in propotion to the creature ; also two gill, or nape fins, and 
a small tail, somewhat like that of a flounder, and a very small 
mouth. 

Of this sort, are two varieties, if not species ; the mud or 
green, and the red lump ; both are good to eat, though the latter 
is the best ; they are shaped alike : the larger sizes are 20 inches 
in length, 15 in depth, up and down, also about 10 in thickness, 
and may weigh 20 pounds or more. From head to tail, on each 
side of the back, are three rows of hard substances as large, 
severally, as a finger nail ; and each, half an inch from the other. 
The green Lump is transparent, so that the finger on its opposite 
side from the eye can be easily seen. On the breast, each has a 
sort of sucker mouth, by which it can hold fast to any substance. 

Wac-ken-i '^^^^ Mackerelf is a very elastic fish, of which Vv'e reckon three 
species : — 1 . the Mackerel : 2. the horse Mackerel : and 3. the 
Bill-fish : all of which dwell in salt water. 

The real Mackerel is very handsome in shape and colour ; is 
fat and palatable, and one of a middle size will weigh two pounds ; 
it is very long and cylindrical, with bright clouded back, (black 
and green,) white teeth, and nape and centre fins : they are taken 
in great plenty off Mount Desert rock and in other places on our 
coast. Its scales, which are small and thin, it sheds in the ago- 
nies of dying. 

Horse The Horse Mackerel, or Mackerel Shark, is coloured, shaped, 

mackerel. i ,-i i i • • • i i i 

and finned like the other, but it is too coarse gramed, dry, and 
rank to be fit for the table. They differ very much in size, be- 
ing from 20 to 200 pounds in weight ; the smaller are taken with 
hooks and the larger are harpooned. — Capt. Lowell caught one 

* Clydopterjs Lumpns. 

f 1. Scomber scombus. — 2. Scomber lanis. — 3. Scomber rostratus. It is 
taid, a Mackerel will produce 5 hundred thousand eg'g's in one season. 



Sect, v.] of malne. 157 

which weighed about 300 pounds. They are often seen, though 
not very plenty in our waters. 

The Bill-fish is a sinnll, rare salt water fish, wciirhine; only Uilifish. 
about half a pound ; and though so light, it is, fiom the end of 
the bill to that of the tail, 15 inches in length. Its head, except 
its bill, which is two inches long, is like a herring, the residue 
like a mackerel ; its flesh is dark coloured, and in flavour rather 
rank to the taste. 

Of the Minnow, or Menow* kind, arc two species : — 1 . the .Menow. 
Menow ; and 2. the Sucker. 

The J)Iiitnow is a verv small, slim fresh water fish, with silvery 
scales, is from two to three inches in length, and is used alive as 
bait to catch pickerel. When in perfect trim, immediately after 
spawning, its back is almost black, its belly a milkwhite, and its 
sides dappled like a panther's, inclining to a grajish sky colour. 

The Sucker is found in plenty in fresh waters only ; it is rather tucker, 
more yellowish than a chub ; weighs from 1 to 3 pounds, being 
from 12 to IS inches in length, and when taken in cold weather, 
is eaten. 

JMonk-fish-f is very plenty about Owd's-head and other bays ; Monk-fisii 
its length about three feet, its weight 1 5 or 20 pounds ; its head 
is great, being in weight about a third part of the whole fish ; and 
its mouth and jaw s, of a lialf-moon form, arc proportionably large, 
whence the proverb, of one who opens wide a large mouth like a 
monk-fish, " we can see what he ate for breakfast." Its beliv, 
as it swims, is partly on one side, like a flounder's ; and thus 
situated, its horizontal width is 12 or 15 inches and more than 
three times its perpendicular thickness. It is not eaten. 

The species of the Perch f(imiJy\ are eight : — 1, 2, and 3. the Perch. 
red, the white, and the sen Perch : 4. the Whiting : 5. \\\cBass : 
G. the Shiner : 7. the Chiib : and S. the Bream. 

The red Perch is so called, because its under fins are of a 
palish red : — It is from 6 to 10 inches in length, is good for the 
table, and weighs from 10 to 20 ounces. It has a horn fin on its 
back, like a bass ; and, perpendicularlv, up and down its sides, it is 
handsomely striped and clouded with black and yellow. 

* 1. Cj'prjnug. — 2.Cypriniis castoslomus forstor. f Lophius*pisca(orius. 

I 1. Perca fluviatalis. — 2. Perca lucioperca. — 3. Pcrca undulata. — 4. Per- 
ca alburnus. — 5. Perca occlatc. — 6. Perca nobilis. — 7. Pcrca pbiladelphica. 
— 3. Perca chrjsoptarn. 



Whitiiij 



Cass. 



158 THE FISHES [IntroduC. 

Perch. The ivhite and sea Perch, as I am informed by fishermen, are 

so nearly alike, as to render it difiicult to trace a difference. 
These are found in salt and fresh water ponds, coves and rivers : 
they are larger and deeper coloured than the red Perch, and 
their sides are as light as an alevvife's. 

The Whiting is a small but wholesome fish, a companion of 
the preceding — seldom seen. 

The Bass is a large scale fish, variable in its size from 10 to 
60 pounds. They are striped with black, have bright scales and 
horned backs, and are caught about the coasts. They ascend 
into the fresh water to cast their spawn, in May or June, being 
lean afterwards and fat in the autumn. In June, 1 807, there 
w^ere taken at the mouth of the Kenduskeag, 7,000 of these 
fishes, which were of a large size — a shoal, either pursued up 
the river by sharks, or ascended in prospect of their prey, or to 
cast their spawn. Bass is good for food when fresh, but poor 
when salted. Mungo Bass is both smaller and much belter fish ; 
— fat and fine flavoured as a salmon. Its exteriour is bright as 
an alewife, and is found in our interiour lakes ; one of them will 
weigh a pound. 

Shiner. The Shiner is very plenty in our fresh waters, where there are 

no pickerel : — also very small, being only about 4 or 5 inches in 
length, and weighing no more than 4 or 5 ounces. Its name is 
taken from the bright silver shining of its scales ; and there are 
two or three varieties, one is like the minnow, another " the shad- 
shiner." 

Chub, The Chub has fins like a sucker ; is exceedingly well shapen, 

with a fan-tail, and its scales are as bright as polished silver. 
One of 5lbs. is 20 inches in length ; it is eaten, though rather 
muddy and rank to the taste. 

Bream. The Bream is a scaled fresh water horn-back fish, five inches 

in length and of only 8 or 10 ounces in weight. The back is 
elliptical, crested with a back-fin, an inch and an half upwards ; is 
as good to the taste as the perch and less bony : it is found 
plentifidly in our ponds and mill-streams. In May or June, each 
pair will sweep round and form in the sand, a cavity, one or two 
feet in diameter, and G or 8 inches in depth, within which they 
cast their spawn. 



Sect, v.] OF MAINE. 159 

Of Pickerel* we have only one species ; and of Pike, I am Pickerel, 
not informed, we have any in our waters. 

The Pickerel is excellent for the table ; one of a middle size 
will wei2;h 31bs. and measure more than 18 inches in length. Its 
back is black, its belly white, and its sides are clouded with black 
and yellow. This species of fish, which is plenty in the Kenne- 
bec waters, was first brought to Penobscot, A. D. 1819, and put 
into Davis' pond, in Eddington, where they have increased sur- 
prizingly : but they devour the white perch, which is of as much, 
or more value, and their emigration has not received much wel- 
come. Where they are plenty, they are speared and also caught 
with a hook. 

The Poutf is found in almost all our fresh water ponds ; it Poui. 
has nape-fins, on each of wiiich are straight sharp horns an inch in 
length, which give great pain, when they perforate the flesh. The 
spawning season is in May, and the old one keeps the brood 
around her, as the hen does hers, and will as boldly fight for their 
safety. Pouts have five or six smellers, or feelers, jutting out 
from their under jaw, as large as wire and an inch in length ; 
such as the hake and sturgeon have below their gills. Pouts are 
skinned when cooked, and eatable when baked. 

The lioach,^ though rather scarce, is found in fresh ponds, is Uoach, 
pleasant for food, and one may weigh from 6 to 20 ounces. It 
is shaped much like a chub, with sides, belly and fins of a red- 
dish tincture. 

Of the Salmon kind^ we have three species, viz. 1. the i^aimon. 
Salmon, 2. Salmon Trout, and 3. Smelt, 

The Salmon, a most excellent fish, is now or has been caught 
in the Saco, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Penobscot and ^Machias 
rivers, into which they ascend from the salt water, in the spring 
and summer months, to cast their spawn in October. They then 
stay till the next May, when they return with their young to the 
sea; these are " the racers" so called. In the males is a sub- 
stance, as hard and white as clear pork newly killed, which is 
easily distinguishable from the spawn of the females ; but the 

* Esox luciijs. -f Siliirus Fc!is, 

X Rubellio Fluviatilis.— Has been called tlic " watcr-shecp for its simpli- 
city. 

\ 1. Salmo Salar,— 2. Salmo Trutta.— 3. Salmo Epcrlanus. 



160 



Trout. 



Smelt. 



Siiad. 



Herrings. 



THE FISHES [IntRODUC. 

peculiar fellowship or connexion at the time of spawning remains 
unsolved. The circular spawn-mounts, formed of sand, are from 
4 to 6 feet in diameter and 12 inches in height; and if any chub 
or other fish comes near, the Salmon will bite them to death and 
leave them. A Salmon weighs from 10 to 40 pounds. 

Of this species, there are three varieties ; the black Salmon, 
which is the smallest ; the hawkbill, which is the largest and 
lightest coloured ; and the smoothnosed, which is the fattest and 
best, with sides bright as an alewife. 

The Salmon Trout are found in all our larger lakes and ponds, 
and are excellent for food : they often weigh from 1 5 to 20 pounds 
each, though they differ in size and appearances ; and are more 
slim and less fat than the salmon ; their sides are spotted with 
red and yellow. 

The Smelt is a small salt and fresh water fish, from 4 to 8 
inches in length, with brown back, light sides and belly, weighing 
4 or 5 ounces ; they are caught in abundance, after March, in our 
rivers ; 20 barrels of them have been taken at the mouth of the 
Kenduskeag at a sweep, and sometimes they are worth no more 
than half a dollar by the bushel. 

We have no less than six, perhaps, seven species of the Shad 
tribe,^ viz. 1. Shad, 2. Alewife, 3. Herring, 4. Hardhead, 5. 
Bret, and 6. Manhaden, and 7. Atherine,-\ 

The Shad, taken in all our rivers,f till their spring-runs were 
checked by dams, are too well known to require a particular de- 
scription. They are three years in coming to maturity, when 
they will weigh from 3 to 5 pounds. The Alewife is also very 
common. 

Herrings^ are of various sizes, from 1 to 20 ounces in weight 
and are good for the table. They are scaled, finned and shaped 
like an alewife ; their backs are of a bright green, and their sides 
and bellies lighter. They are caught plentifully along our coast, 
especially about Herring-gut and eastward. They are llie best 

* 1. Clupea AIoso. — 2. Clupea Serrata.— 3. Clupea Harcng'us. — 4. Clupea 
Dura Mystax. — 5. Clupea Minima ? — 6, Clupea Menida ? 

f Atherine. Atherina, may belong to anotlier family. 

\ On the 2d of May, 1794, at the month of the Kenduskeag-, (of the Pe- 
nobscot,) were taken at one draft 1,000 shad and 30 barrels of alevvives. 

5 " Of all migrating fish the Herring and Pilchard take the most advea- 
turons voyages." 



Sect, v.] of MAINE. 161 

of bait for codfish, and are so fat, before they spawn in August 
or September, that it is difficult to save them even with sah. 

The Hardhead is shaped and finned like a shad, except that uarjiiend. 
its head, which is smaller, looks like that of a perch. Its back 
is of a yellowish cast ; it will in general weigh from one to three 
pounds, and is very fine lluvourcd. The Hardhead are mostly 
taken in salt water, with nets and wares and sometimes with 
hooks ; though a few have been caught at the mouth of the Kcn- 
duskeag and other fresh rivers. 

Manhaden* are likewise found mostly in salt water, though Manhaden. 
they are seen sometimes as high up in rivers, as where the fresh 
and salt water mix. One's head is almost as large as that of a 
shad, and is equal in size and weight to one third j)art of the 
whole fish; its length is from 8 to 12 inches; its weight from 1 
to 2 pounds ; its appearance is like that of a shad, except that 
its head is larger, itself shorter ; its back is green, and its belly a 
light yellowish colour, like a hardhead. It is plentifully taken on 
our coast, and much used for bait to catch haddock, pollock, hal- 
ibut, and mackerel ; but too oily and strong for the table. This 
is, in graile, about the fourth family of fishes, put upon the table, 
and abundant in our waters. 

Of the Squalid tribej- we may mention diree species. 1 . the Squalid 
Shark; 2. the Dogfish; and 3. the Swordfish. 

The Shark, among fishermen, is called the " maneater," " the Shark. 
shovel-nose," and " the swingle-tail ;" these being varieties of 
the species. The latter is caught in our bays, though not often. 
Its length is from 4 to 14 feet, half of which is tail, perpendicu- 
larly fiat, like a sword, tapering from the draught, where it is 
about 1(3 inches in circumference, to the end, and where it is only 
an inch in diameter, turning or curving downwards. Its mouth, 
head, and body, are like those of a dogfish. One of common 
size w ill weigh 1 50 pounds ; yet one was caught eastward of 
Metinicus, in 1811, which was supposed to weigh more than 
500 pounds. 

The Dogfish, found only in salt water, is about 3 or 4 feet in yo-rCsh. 
length and weighs about 20 or 25 pounds. It has a peaked 
nose, and from its end, 3 inches back, is its moutli, very small, 



* Vulgarly called "pog^eyt,' 

f 1, Scjualus Stcilaris. — 2. Sqnalus Acanthias. — 3. Pqiialcs Xiphias. 



162 



THE FISHES 



[Introduc. 

resembling that of a sturgeon, but full of small sharp teeth with 
which it bites spitefully. Its back is not scaled, but so ex- 
ceedingly rough as to be used by cabinet-makers to smooth 
their boards : and to educe the proverb, " as rough as the skin 
of a Dogfish." But the great peculiarity of this fish consists in 
that of procreation. It never spawns, but the female has often 
in its belly an hundred eggs at one time, to which severally are 
attached a young one, in a state of greater or less maturity. Its 
eggs are from the bigness of a pea to that of a partridge's egg ; 
and when the young are cast from the dam, one at a time, it is 
slim and more than half a foot in length and if one be cut out 
before entire maturity, and thrown into the water, it has been 
known to swim off with the broken egg hanging by a string two 
inches in length. 

The Sivordfish is not frequent, but has been seen off Mount 
Desert and other places, ten leagues at sea. Its whole length is 
about 8 or 10 feet; it has two fins on the back, which are apt to 
be out of the water, as it usually swims near the surface. Its 
sword, from the point of its nose, is two feet long and so hard 
that the fish can wield it through the hull of a vessel. 

Of the Sticklcjs* we have two species; — 1. Skip-jack, and 
2. Stickle-back, 
Skip-jack. The Skip-jack is a scaled small salt water fish, good to eat, 
weighing from 10 to 16 ounces, and shaped like a pumpkin seed. 
It is only about an inch through, measured horizontally ; while its 
perpendicular depth is from 4 to 6 inches, and three fourths as 
much as its length. 

The body of the Stickle-back is broadest towards the tail ; the 
head is oblong, a fin covers the gills with three spines ; and 
prickles start backward, before the back fins and those of the 



Swordfish. 



Sticklers. 



Stickle- 
back. 



Sturgeon. 



draught. 

The Sturgeon^ is commonly G or 8 feet in length and weighs 
from 20 to 30 pounds, though some have been caught which 
would weigh 200 pounds. It migrates from the salt water, 
during the spring, into almost all our rivers and returns in 
the autumn. It has a long head and prominent nose, beneath 
which it has a sucker-mouth without jaws or teeth. It has gills 



* I. Gasterosteus Solatrix.— 2. Gaslerosteus Aculeatus. 
I Acipenscr sturlo. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 103 

shaped exactly like an officer's epaulett ; and on its back to its 
tail, and on each side of the back, includinc; the belly, there are 
in all, four rows of hard bony substances, pungent to the touch, 
like a grater. It frequently leaps from the rivers, to wash off the 
slime which gathers upon it in still water and hot weather. 

The Sculpion* is common about the mouths and salt water sculpion. 
harbours of our rivers — is fond of fish-offal and the refuse of 
ship-cookery. Its length is from 12 to 14 inches, its head is ugly 
and large, and its mouth opens like that of a monkfish. About its 
gills and head it has horns, sharp and short ; and near the gills it 
has also, on each side, two large wing-fins and a fin on the back, 
all which have horns half an inch in length, very sharp and poison- 
ous to the (lesh : when caught it will bristle up and make a dull 
hostile humming. From the lower extremity of the body, it falls 
off in shape very abruptly, and thence to the end of the tail is 
small and cylindrical, this part being the only one ever eatable. 

The Su)iftsh\ is a large ugly looking creatuic, sometimes weigh- 5, ^^^^^^ 
ing 300 pounds, but never eaten. It is G feet in length, 30 
inches in diameter, and very solid. It is not scaled ; its exte- 
riour is rough as that of a dogfish and as thick as a sheepskin, 
bcneatli which is a substance all over the body, from one inch to 
an inch and an half in thickness, which is light, transparent and 
very elastic, so that when it is pared into balls, it will, on being 
thrust upon the floor, bound 40 or 50 feet. The oil of its liver 
is said to be good to cure the rheumatism. 

The Thornhack,\ or Cumier, is a brown coloured, scaled Thomback. 
salt water fish, as large as a white perch, and is a good pan-fish. 
It has a horny, or thorned back, and is found in Casco bay and 
westward ; and weighs from 1 to G pounds. 

The Toadjish^ is an ugly shaped creature, about as large as a .j.^gjr,5j, 
sculpion, and shaped somewhat like it ; and is probably a mem- 
ber of the same family. It appears about the head and mouth like 
an old toad, with the addition of a coarse mossy beard ; has a large 
potbelly and small tail : feeds on plaice, flounders, and other 
small fish, and is found in our salt water harbours. 

The Trowel! also, must be mentioned as a fish of our fresh,., 

. , . Trout. 

waters, particularly those of the Androscoggin. 

■* Cotttis quadricornis. t Clydoptcrus 'a \ Raja FuUonica. 

\ Pisres Tana. f] 'iVocta. 



164 THE FISHES [Introduc. 

The warm blooded, or cetaceous mammillary inhabitants of our 
waters are three, the JVhale,* the Porpoise,-f and the Seal.^ All 
these suckle their young. 

Whale. Whales, two centuries ago, were common in our waters, when 

Capt. Smith fished for them about our great bays. Such as we 
now see, are the Humpback,^ which are the most common, being 
from 30 to 35 feet in length, severally yielding from 15 to 25 
barrels of oil. The others, are the Grampus Whales, shorter, 
smaller, of less value and more frequently seen. 

Black-fish. The Black-fish, is from 1 5 to 30 feet in length ; from 1 to 
12 feet in circumference; and shaped like a whale, and has a 
large fin upon the back. One of a common size will yield half 
a dozen barrels of oil. It is a warm blooded fish, resembling the 
whale. When harpooned, it has been seen to take its young 
under its fluke, and carry it down into the depths of water. 

Porpoise, The Porpoise has always been common in our waters, and one 
of a middle size will weigh from 75 to 100 pounds, and measure 
from 5 to 7 feet in length. It has no gills ; but receives air 
through a single nostril, or " puffer," which is between its eyes. 
Its outside is without scales and smooth as velvet. The liver and 
lights, which are like those of a swine, are the only parts usually 
eaten, though the savages, with stouter stomachs, do not stop 
there. 

Seal. The Seal\\ is found among the Islands and in the rivers of 

Maine, and was formerly very plenty. It has been taken at the 
head of tide-waters in the Penobscot ; and seen as high up as 
the Grand-falls. It is an amphibious animal, with flukes like 
fore paws, and with webbed feet near its hinder extremity ; its 
head, mouth and teeth are like those of a dog, its body is round 
and from 9 to 12 inches in diameter; it brings forth and suckles 
its young like a land animal, and seems designed to form the 
connecting link between the two kingdoms, as the bat connects 
those of the beast and bird. 

* Cete Balaona ? f Thursio. | Phoca. 

5 ' Tlie New-England whale has a hump on the back.' — Goldsmith. 
II Phoca. Vitulina. 



Sect, v.] OF MAINE. 165 

SHELLFISH. 

Among the numerous inhabitants of our waters, llie Shellfish ^I'tiifisii. 
seem to he formed under an inverted law of nature ; for tliey, 
contrary to otlier animals, have their bony parts outside and their 
muscles w ithin. Of these we have two classes, which the natur- 
alists call crustnccous and testaceovs, or the soft and the hard 
shelled. Belonging to the Jormcr'*' are, — 1. ihe Lobster ; 2. 
the Cralt ; 3. the Shrimp; and 4. the Crayfish, which are of^ofi^ 
the Crab kind ; and 5. the Tortoise, whereof there arc among 
us three species. Of those called hard she] led, f are, 1. the 
Oysters, 2. J\luscles, 3. Cockles,\ 4. Limpets, 5. Sea-snails : — 
Clams of several species, or rather several varieties, as, G. Sea, 7. 
Hog, 8. Razor-shell, 9. Long-shell, and 10. Land-shell, Clams. 

Lobsters generate in salt water. They have claws, feelers, Lobsters, 
and teeth. Like insects, their mouth opens ilie long way ol the 
body ; and like some plants, both sexes are in the same creature ; 
also, if a joint of the claw be broken off, another will grow out. 
They propagate by spawn ; and change their shell annually. 
Lobsters suit many palates ; — on our coast they are plenty. 

The Crab is less in size than the lobster, and though like ^ , 

Crab. 

flavoured to the taste, it is much less esteemed by epicureans. 
Of this creature, we reckon three varieties : the sea Crab, the 
hermit, and the slender Crab. 

Of the Shrimj), owing to its smallness, little or no use is made, §1,^^^, 
except for fishermen's bait. It is taken on our shores. It is 
shaped like a lobster.§ 

The Crayfish, or Craufish\\ differs so little from the lobster asrrswfish. 
to be called sometimes, the river lobster : since it will live com- 
fortably in fresh water, whereas the lobster's element is tJie sea. 
The best of Crawfish are found in considerable quantities in 
Moosehead lake. 

The Tortoises are all amphibious ; " a land Tortoise will live '^''"■','?r''\ 

*• and 1 uiilc 

* 1. Cancer Astacus. 2. Cancer Piscinns 3. Cancer Sqiiillus — 4. 

Cancer . 5. Tcstiido Dcnticiilata. — G. Tcstndo Carolina. — 7. Tcs- 

tiido . 

t 1. Ostrca.— 2. Mjlilus edtilis.— 3. Ncrita liltoralis.— 4. Patella ftisca. 
— 5. MatricMilus, or Nautillus. — 6. Ilolotlmna, phantapliiis. — 7. Mya-arcn 
aria. — S. Solen crisis. —9. Solon radialis 10. .*<al)clla gramilala. 

J Cockles look like a suail, and are found en liic flats. 

!j A shrimp has a tough skin but no slid!, |! Cancer astag^us. 



166 THE SHELLFISH [InTRODUC. 

Tortoise, in the water, and a sea Turtle can be kept upon the land," yet 
they are divided into those of each element, where they prefer 
to stay. Our largest species is from the sea ; it is sometimes 
made into soups, which are considered a treat, though it is a 
creature rarely taken in our waters. The mud Turtle and 
speckled land Turtle are too common to need description. But 
it is to be remarked of this animal, whatever be its size, that it3 
scales or chequers on the back are always 13 in number : it has 
no teeth, its long jaws are more like knives, and when irritated it 
so fastens them upon its disturber, that the part seized is the trib- 
ute infallibly taken. It lives on vegetable food, seasoned and 
variegated with small insects. Its propogation is by eggs, which 
it lays in the sand, in large numbers, and which the genial warmth 
of the sun hatches. Tortoises, or turtles, like the frog, serpent, 
bat and swallow, he torpid through the winter; yet it is ascer- 
tained their respiration is not wholly suspended, for in a close 
vessel without air, they in their torpor have been known to stifle, 
though not so soon as those in a state of vigour. They have 
been known to live a century, and not to die till several days after 
their head was cut off. 

Oysters were originally plenty on our seaboard and on our 
salt water flats, as is fully evident from the great quantities of 
their shells seen remaining on the banks of Damariscotta river, 
St. George's river and in other places ; yet they are quite scarce 
at the present period. They are a harmless and pleasant food, 
except about spawning time in IMay, and will live many weeks 
after being taken from the water. The spawn when cast, looks 
like candle-drops, fastens to every thing it touches, and in three 
days is covered with a shell, and in three years, the creature is 
large enough for market. 

Muscles. Muscles are innumerable in our salt waters ; perhaps from 

these little creatures, the Muscle ridges took their name — a nota- 
ble cluster of Islands at the mouth of the Penobscot bay. It is 
well known the muscle consists of two equal shells, joined at the 
back by a strong nervy ligament, forming a kind of hinge. It 
has a muscular fibre resembling a tongue, by which it can fur- 
row the sand and make shifts to get along edgewise, till it reaches 
its object ; and then, with a glewy substance which it possesses, 
it can fasten itself there. Muscles are taken to eat (if ever) be- 



O^sters. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 167 

twecn June and October. Like the Oyster, they are formed with 
the organs of hfo and respiration. 

Clams, whicli, according to naturahsts, belong, Hke muscles to <-'»">»• 
the tri-valvular kind of shellfish, are plenty about our shores, and 
arc often made an article of food, especially by the Indians. 
Of the three varieties mentioned, the one most peculiar is the 
razor-shell, or pivot, whose shape is like the halt of a razor, spotted I'ivoi. 
as a turtle-shell. All its motion consists in its ability to sink, or 
rise a foot down or up in the soft sand. There is a small funnel 
hole over the place where it buries itself, through which it 
breathes, or imbibes seawater. AVhen the tide is out, a little salt 
put into the hole, will as it melts, induce it to rise above the 
ground half its length ; it must be instantly seized, for it will not 
be drawn out any more the same tide. 

'' All oysters and most shellfish are found to contain pearls* Pearls, 
larger or smaller." They are formed of matter connected witli 
the shell, which is soft at first and hardens rapidly, exhibiting 
successive coals, layer over layer, not unlike the consistence of 
the onion. The pearl-oyster however, as such, has a large 
strong white shell, of a silver colour within, and elegant pearly 
appearance. f 

VERMES. 

Of these, many might be mentioned which belong to both Vermes, 
elements, land and water ; though they are not sufficiently known 
to be classified with much precision. 

I.N THE SEA — We find the Horseshoe, or King-crab,^ of which 
there are du'ce species ; and all of them are small ill-shapen 
creatures inhabiting the salt water, and designed for the food of 
larger fish. The Squid, or Cuttle-fish^ is from 4 to 1 G inches in 
length ; its tail shaped like the top of a coflee-pol ; its head is 
joined to its body by a kind of swivel, like that of a grashopper, 
and it has a bill resembling that of a pai-rot. It has large smel- 

* 1. M. de Buffon, p. 57. Tliis is doubted. 

t The otlier sliell-fisli found in our waters arc tlic nij>p!rjlshy quahog, 
scallop, sca-spiilcr, and perriicinkic, 

IJJotwcuiiis Polnplnmus [one e)cd-pcnusj. — Muiwculus Pitcinus — . 
jyioiinculus Pulcx. — J^Ionoculus (^uadricorntu. 

5 Sepkia ^^ledia, — Siephla Calico. 



168 VERMES [IntrODUC. 

Vermes. lers, or feelers ; its back Is covered with spots which have in 
their appearance the colour of iron-rust ; and it possesses the 
singular power of changing its hue from an olive-brown to a dull 
white. Its flesh resembles, in its looks, beef tripe ; and it is well 
furnished by nature for self-defence or protection, for it possesses 
a jet black liquid, which, when alarmed, it squirts into the water^ 
and with which it thus darkens it to such a degree as to screen 
itself from its pursuer. We find two species of this Cuttle-fish, 
as a Squid is sometimes called. 

The Sea-U7'chin^ resembles a chesnut burr, its back is covered 
whh bony prickles ; its mouth is underneath ; the number of its 
horns and spines are very great ; its shell is hard, and its move- 
ments very slow. The Sea-egg\ has a great affinity to it. 

Of the Starfish^ we have three or four species ; each has a 
common centre resembling a wheel-hub, and from three to five 
branches Hke the fingers, in shape and colour of a man's hand j 
and hence they are sometimes called " Fingerjish.^^ The Sea- 
lungs are of like nature, only of different shape, taking their 
name from their appearance. 

The Bariiach^ is much less than an oyster, and sticks fast to 
rocks and sometimes to the hulls of vessels : a cluster of them 
looks like a bunch of grapes. When the sea is calm, they will 
open the lids of their shells and seem to take a momentary look 
and then re-enclose themselves for a period of stupor. 

On Land — We have two or three species of Snails,^ one is j 
without any shell 5 and that of the other is curious. They are 
propagated by eggs, and the young of the latter have shells on 
their first appearance. A Slvg^{ is of the same nature. 

We have among us, in summer, a variety of native Worms, a 
few 6f which we may mention, though they are seldom very 
troublesome. These are the Grub ;*^ the Earthworm ;-f-f the 
Brandling ;\\ the Angleworm ;^^ the Glowworm ;\i^^ Earwig ;^^ 
Millepedes, or thousand legs ; timber Worm ; and others. These 
differ essentially from caterpillars j for they continue to be worms 

*Erinaceiis marinus, or uVjorc's egg, f Asterias-caput-medusa. 
J Echinus. 5 J^^pas anatifera. || Helix. 
IT Lhiiax. ** Lumbricus. tf Vermis terrostris. || ? 



\] Vermis piscatorius, (1|1 Cicindela. %^ Forsicula aurelia. 



Sect, v.] of Mainf,. ^ pf^ 

diirina; life, whereas, all caterpillars pass a cln-i/salis state and at 
leiiKth become insects. 

We find several species of Leeches,^ common here. They 
live in frcsli ponds, tliou<;h they arc amphibious and will live on 
land. The mouth of each one is armed with an instrument like 
the body of a pump ; and the tongue, or fleshy nipple, is like the 
sucker — with this it draws blood. 

REPTILES. 

Under the name of Reptiles, we may mention three families : K«P»i'"' 
the /"Voir, the Lizard, and the Suake ; wliich are not numerous 
in Maine, and i!;cnerally harmless j all except the Rattlesnake be- 
ing free of venom. 

Of the Frog kind j- are six species: — 1. the Toad; 2. the 
pond Frog; 3. ihc speckled Frog; 4. ihe tree Toad; 5. the 
btill Frog ; and 6. the gi-een Frog. 

This race lives about 10 or 12 years, and comes to maturity in 
four. It is projiasrated by eggs in spawn, impregnated by the 
male at the time they are cast ; and a female will produce from 
500 to 1 000 eggs at a time. The young, which are tadpoles at 
first, have legs in 95 days, and ever afterwards live on those insects 
and worms only which have motion. They always jump to sieze 
their prey, for they touch no lifeless insect. The tongue, as in 
the lizard and serpent, is extremely long, and lays its point down 
the throat. The male only croaks, and the music of this species 
has been ludicrously called the singing of " Dutch Nightin- 
gales." The Toad is harmless, never venomous ; always seek- 
ing obscure retreats for the sake of safety. 

We sometimes see two species of the Lizard kind :J the 
JS'eivt, or brown Lizard, and the Sivift. — Of a compound form 
between a snake and a frog, they are in aspect exceedingly for- 
bidding. 

* Hirudo. f 1. Rana btifo. — 2. Rana occlala. — 3. Rana macu* 

lata ? — i. Rana arborca, — 5. Rana boans. — 6. Rana esculaiita. 

f 1. Lacerta punctata. — 2. Lacrcta fusciata.— N. B. Tlic Crocodile is a 
Bpccics of tliis genus. 

Vol. I. 12 



170 THE INSECTS [IntroDUC. 

Rtpiilei: Eight species of Serpents^ have been seen among us : viz. 1. 

the Rattlesnake ; 2 the black Snake ; 3. the House ; 4. the 
Water ; 5. the little brown Snake: 6. the Adder; 7. the green 
and 8. the striped Siiake. 

Nothing need be said of either, so often are they seen and 
so entirely harmless are they all, except the Rattlesnake. 

This creature is from 4 to 6 feet in length, and the venom it 
communicates when it bites is often mortal. Before it jumps to 
strike its prey, it gives a loud buzzing with a tremulous motion of 
the rattles on its tail, not unlike in sound, the singing of the locusts. 
In this way an alarm is taken and the danger avoided. They 
den in the winter, and lie torpid till spring. The first rattle grows 
when they are three years old ; to which another is added every 
year of their lives. Its wonderful ability to charm, or fascinate 
small animals, is too well attested at this day, to be any longer 
doubted. f Great numbers of the Rattlesnake have been taken 
on a hill of that name in Raymond, and in some other places in 
Maine ; but none have ever been seen east of Kennebeck river. 
The oil, or grease they yield is of great value for sprains ; and 
the slough, or shed-skin of these, or the others, when put into the 
ear, will make the head and the hearing extremely clear. The 
Rattlesnake is said to be the only creature found in the State 
which carries venom. 



Insects. 



INSECTS. 

The little animals usually called Insects, are those which have 
a joint, or swivel, in the middle of their bodies, and thus the fore 
and back parts are holden together by a strong ligament. No 
other order in nature, not all the plants themselves the earth pro- 
duces, can bear any just comparison in numbers, with the innu- 
merable myriads of this Insect-creation. Sometimes they are 
with us troublesome and destructive ; yet in general they are 
neither so Jarge, greedy, nor numerous in this State as in south- 
ern latitudes, Entomology, which is truly a curious science, has 

* 1. Crotalus horridus. — 2. Coluber constrictor. — 3. Coluber punctatus. 
4. Coluber fasciatus. — 5. Coluber striatnlus. — 6. Coluber saureta. — 7. 
Anguis eryx. — 8. Coluber sipcdon, [Brown Snake.] sonretimes seen, 

■i-2 William's Hist. o( Vermont, appendix No. IV. It is not foimd in 
Europe, Aeia, nor Africa, 



Sect, v.] OF MAINE. 171 

hitherto received too little attention from the scholars of our insccu. 
country : For what can he more interesting than the history of 
the bee, the ant, the butterfly and the spider ?* 

All we can do here, is to classify a few of this innumerable 
race of mortals ; and we suppose those found in Maine, may be 
arranged under these generic heads, viz. 1- Beetles; 2. Chir- 
pers ; 3. Bugs; 4. Caterpillars; 5. Butterjlies ; 6. Bees; 7. 
Ants; 8. Spiders; and 9. Flies; and still there are others, 
such as the deathwatch, the mite and the father-long-legs, which 
are not sufficiently known to be correctly classified. 

Tiie Beetle is a flying insect, furnished with a case which it 
draws over its wings, to secure them from injury whenever it is 
digging holes in the ground or in rotten wood. The whole race 
have a great aversion to roses ; and make a humming noise when 
on the wing. 

Of the Beetle class,f 1 . the horned Beetle has dark brown 



* The Spider's web is considered a remedy for the Asthma, and possibly 
for the hydrophobia — taken in quantity, a scruple at a time. — Dr. Thach- 
cr^s Dispaisalorij, p. 396 — 399. 

BEETLES. 

t 1. Scarabacus Simson. — 2. Scarabaeus Carolinus. — 3. Scarabaeus Stcr- 
corarius. — -1. Scarabaeus Horticola. — 5. Scarabacus Lanig-erus ? — 6. Scara- 
baeus Ahineiis ? — 7. Lucanus Ccrvus. — 8. Lucanus Interruptiis. 

Mcloc Proscarabacs ; Oile licclle. — Dennestes Lardarius; Bacon Beetle, — 
Dermcstcs Typographus ; Print Beetle — Gyrinus natalor ; Water Jlea. — 
Dytiscus piceus ; Water Beetle. — Selpha vespillo; B^tid Beetle — Coccinel- 
la ; Lady-fly, Lady Cow, (or Lady Bird.) — Bruchus pisi ; Weevil. — Cur- 
culio quircus; Snouted Weevil. — Cerambyx Coriarius; Capricorn Beetle 
or Goat Chaffer, — Lampyris Lucida ; Firejly or Lightning bug. — Buprestria 
mariana ; Cantharides, or Burn Cow. — Molco nig^ra ; Blossom eater — Forn- 
cula ; £aru)/g-.— Blatta ; J^Iill beetle. — Staphylinus; several species, black 
blue, or striped beetle. Sic. — Cassida ; Shield beetle. 

CMIRPERS. 
Gryllus ; Cricket, House cricket. — Gryllus Gryllotalpa ; Jfole Cricket. — 
Gryllus Aquaticus. Water Cricket. — Locusta; Locust, — Cicada; Grat- 
hopper, several species. — Cicada; Balm Cricket. 

BUGS. 
'inex ; Bugs of several species. — Cbermes ; Bugs on plants and trttt, — 
Aphis ; Louse on plants and leaves, 

CATERPILLARS. 
Campc ; Naturalist suppose there arc as many species of Cattrpillcn 
M there are plants, each feeding on its favourito one. 



172 THE INSECTS [IntRODUC. 

Insects. wings and horns, turning in towards each other ; sometimes vul- 
garly called the horn-bug ; 2. the Carolina ; 3. the Dung-hill; 

4. Apple; 5. Golden; and 6. brass Beetles, are all of one 
genus ; and 7. the Stag, and 8. the jluted Beetle, belong to 
another. The stag Beetle is the largest of the whole race among 
us, has six feet, coral coloured horns, and is more than an inch 
in length. 

Of the chirping race, are the Locusts and Crickets, which are 
never numerous and always harmless. In dry seasons, the Gras- 
hoppers however, often appear in great multitudes, and are the 
greedy destroyers of the half-parched herbage. This was par- 
ticularly the case in the years 1743 and 1756, when they threat- 
ened to destroy every thing green. 

With Bugs, Lice, and Worms, on trees and plants, the hus- 
bandman is oftentimes seriously troubled, especially in gardens. 
Our wheat and pea fields have been injured by a devouring 
Maggot ;* and, in the war, upon these kinds of voracious crea- 

BUTTERFL1E3. 
Papilio ma^nus; Great ButUrf.y. — Papilio Communis; Common Bui- 
ttrfiy. — Sphinx : Burnet Moth, and other species. — Phalaena. — JVight 
Fhilterer, or Jliller. 

BEES. 
Apis ; two species, Bumble and Tfild Bee : (The white-head Bumble 
[Humble] Bee carries no sting.) — Vespa ; Wasp; of which there are three 
spe«ies, black., yellow and blue. — Vespa Crabo ; Hornet. 

ANTS. 

Formica; the Jhit ; of which there arc several species, as the great Fis- 
mire, the small, yellow, and black Emmets. 

SPIDERS. 

Aranea ; Spider; several species, such as black, gray, wandering, gar- 
den, water, jumping, rose Spiders. — Linnrous takes notice of only six Spi- 
ders; 1. the greatest ; 2. the house ; 3. the bag-bearing; 4. the water; 

5. the bud Spiders ; and 6. the Tarantula ; But iu this he is evidently too 
limited. 

FLIES. 

Oestrus ; Ox-Gadjly, (size of a common bee.) — Lytta bitlata ; Potato 
^y, (looks like a Spanish Fly.) — Notonecta; Watcrjhj. — Libellula ; Drag- 
onjly, or Horse-stinger. — C3nids; Oakapple Fly. — Tenthrcdo betulae ; Saw 
Fly. — Musca ; black, and brown Fly. — Tabanus ; Horsrjly — Couops cal- 
citrans ; Slinging Jly. — Culex pipiens , Jlusquelo. — Pulex ; a Flea. — Podu- 
ra nivalis ; a Snow Flea. — Linna3us mentions more than thirty species of 
Flies, many of which are unknown in this State, 

"* At maturity, it bsB been called the Hsssianjly. 



Sect, v.] of Maine. 173 

tiires, different expedients liave been adopted to kill or check Insecti. 
them. It has been said, that soaking tiie seed intended for sow- 
ing, or planting, in copperas water, or lime water, will be of 
much service. 

Butterflies, especially in the eastern parts of Maine, are not 
numerous ; and, of course, we may infer as to the countless tribe 
of CatcrpiUars noticed by Linnrcus, which become Butterflies 
and other insects, the numbers among us arc not great. One 
kind of Caterpillar, has done our orchards in some seasons, great 
damage. This lays its eggs in the branches of the trees, early 
in the spring, from which are hatched a black insect called the 
Canker-ioorm, about an inch in length. Such are sometimes the 
troops^Jof these ravagers, that by the 21st of June, when they 
disappear, they give the trees the appearance of having been 
stripped of their foliage by fire. They do not come every year ; 
and their ascent is prevented by girdling the trees with tar. 

It is doubted if the Honey-bee is a native of this State, or of 
North-America. Joscelyn supposes hives of them were introduc- 
ed into this country from Europe. They flourish exceedingly 
well amongst us ; and a bee-master is able to tell curious and 
entertaining stories, equally about their propagation, industry, and 
self-government. 

The Ilumhhbec, the Hornet, the Hack and yellow Wasps, are 
indigenous ; and seem to brave our cold winters without many 
fatal losses in their respective families. 

Of the Fly class, the black Fly and the Musquito are the most 
troublesome. The former by day, and the latter by night, es- 
pecially near the borders of our woods, come forth in great num- 
bers to sate their greedy appetite, by extracts from the human 
body. 

Note. — Naturalists say, as to the fecundity of animal nature, that in a 
year, a common fly will lay 144 pg-gs ; a spider 170 ; a moth 1000 ; a frog 
era tortoise 1000; a shrimp <),000 ; a lobster 10,000 ; and a crab 100,000. 
So in dilfcrcnt kinds of fish, there have been found in the milt of a her- 
ring-, or a emclt, 35,000; in a roach 100,000; in a carp, a perch, or a 
mackerel, 300,000; in a flounder 100,000 and more:— and two naturalists 
have computed that a codfish produces 9,000,000 of eggs in a single season. 



174 



Minerals in 
iu general. 



Kinds of 
Rocks. 



>Granite> 



Gneis*. 



THE MINERALS [InTRODUC. 

SECTION VI. 

MINERALS. 

In the mineral, as well as in the animal and vegetable depart- 
ments of nature, are noticed the most evident impresses and tra- 
ces of the Divine wisdom, power and goodness. Around us and 
under our feet, are various qualities of matter, which are, by dis- 
criminating knowledge and skilful management, wrought into 
articles of most extensive use and exquisite beauty. If, therefore, 
we were well acquainted with what is placed within our immedi- 
ate control or observation, as the resources of our own State ; 
we should probably find far less occasion to visit other countries, 
for obtaining what is either useful or curious. 

The object of the present Section is to give a short account 
of the Minerals'^ found in this State — the science of which is 
highly mteresdng and important ; for it deals in materials near at 
hand, worthy of research and examination, and fraught with 
great benefits to the mechanic arts, and consequently to common 
Hfe. 

According to geologists, we may mention as among us, eight 
kinds of Rocks, | viz. Granite, Gneiss, and J\Iica-slate, which 
are primitive Rocks ; Argillite, Limestone and Greenstone, which 
occur in primitive, transition and secondary Rocks ; Gray-wacke 
and Sandstone, the one of which is transition and the other sec- 
ondary rocks. These two, however, are rarely found in this 
State. 

1. Granite, composed of feldspar, quartz and mica, is in its | 
structure granular, and its usual colour is gray. It is a very val- 
uable and handsome building stone ; and in Bowdoinham the 
graphic variety is peculiarly beautiful. 

2. The Gneiss is constituted of the same minerals as the 
granite ; though the former has less feldspar and more mica than 
the latter. Its structure is slaty, its colours more delicate than 
those of the granite, and is more easily split into regular-formed 
massess. Mountains of it are more rounded and less steep. 



* shells and other org^anic substances petrified are called Fossils. 

f The ancients supposed the exterior of the globe, vn.% 2t. fluid; and 
transferred the idea of water crystnlized (o ice — to jyrimitive rocks which 
."ire below all others and are more or less cryslalline. Secondary rocks 
were evidently formed afterwards as they often exhibit marine shells, 
and other pctrifactioris. 



Sect, vi.] of Maine. 175 

3. Mica-slait is composed essentially of mica and quartz, the Micasai*. 
former of which usually predominates. Of course it exhibits a 
bluisii-gray hue, and in tiie sunbeams reflects a dazzling lustre. 
It is not plenty like the other two, and when all occur together, 
it is uppermost, and in point of originality supposed therefore to 
be secondary rock. 

4- Jlrgillite covers all three when they occur together ; and Argilliie. 
its colour and formation are both slaty. It never possesses a 
dirystalline structure. It is used, when sufficiently soft, for 
writing-slates, and also for roof-slating when it splits well. It 
is found on the banks of the Kennebec river at Winslow and 
Waterville. 

5. Limestone is a mineral rock which abounds in this State, Limesione, 
at Thomaston, and will be hereafter described. 

G. Greenstone is composed of hornblende and feldspar, either Oieenstoni. 
in grains or small chrystals ; and, because the hornblende pre- 
dominates, it assumes a greenish tinge. It is sometimes so very 
hard and fine grained as to admit of a beautiful polish. 

Upon the mountains about the heads of Kennebec river, the 
Greenstone presents itself in prisms of several sides and straight 
edges, and an aspect not unlike bricks standing endwise. In 
Harpswell it is found to contain numerous balls, or globules, ap- 
parently of garnet, as large as bullets, and easily separated from 
the mass. Greenstone, when a secondary rock, is observed to be 
in detached masses, abounding or marked with fossils. It occurs 
on the height of land between the Kennebec and Penobscot, and 
also at Belfast and Brownville. This may be useful in building, 
and when pulverized, it may be employed to form a water-proof 
mortar for cellars, docks, and piers. 

Besides these various kinds of rocks, a large portion of the A''i:vini 
earth's crust is constituted of Alluvial Dcposites, in which are ' 
found clay, sand, gravel, pebbles, fragments of rocks, loam, coal, 
bog-ore, intermixed with organic remains, shells, bones, and even 
trunks of trees. Among these have appeared precious stones 
and precious metals, which through their hardness were found 
little affected by attrition. Alluvial appearances are very mani- 
fest in many places, upon the banks of the Androscoggin and 
Kennebec, and particularly in Pittston. 



* In compiling this section, a particular acknowlcdgrnent is due to Par-* 

KER Cleavet-And, Esq., Professor of Matliernatics and Natural Philoso- 
phy, and Lecturer on Chemistry and Mineralogy in Bovvdoin College, and 
to his excellent Treatise onJJincralogy and Geology. 

f There were once. Sail works, on the Isle of Shoals, 

I Its action on the soil and the plant, is not satisfactorily explained ; wheo 
put on a piece of earthen near tl)e vegctabk, its effect has been the same 
SiS when laid on the ground at its ro^t- 



176 THE MINERALS [InTRODUC 

Mines and Minerals * are inorganic substances as they naturally exist ; 
and large quantities of them are commonly called Mines. Such 
of each as are found among us, are now to be mentioned ; ac- 
cording as they have been arranged by Mineralogists, and made 
to submit to a fourfold classification, and subordinate orders, 
TheClassi- gej-,gj.a and species. They class minerals according as they par- 
take materially of an Acid — an Earthy — ^a Combitstibi.i: — or 
a Metallic — ingredient or integral property. 
1st Class r^j^^ ^^,^^ q^^^^^ embraces the different Acids; also the AllcaJis 
— Ammonia, Potash, and Soda ; and the five primitive Earths — • 
Barytes, Strontian, Lime, Magnesia, and Allumine. — But we have 
to remark only upon Lime and its species ; for we have no native 
beds, or mines of the others ; nor of common Salt ; nor of Nitre, 
or Saltpetre, so necessary in medicine, in chemistry, in the man- 
ufacture of gunpowder, and in the cure of the heavy meats, A 
spontaneous production of Nitre might however be easily effect- 
ed, by artificial layers of earth in a dry atmospheric air, with ani- 
mal or vegetable substances embedded in a state of decomposi- 
tion, f 
Lime, Of Lime, a primitive earth, there are several species. Apa- 

Gypsum, tite, in pale green crystals, is found in Topsham, disseminated in 
granite ; and Gypsum, or plaster, has been found and extensive- 
ly used by husbandmen, in manuring their grounds. f It is im- 
ported in large quantities from Nova-Scotia for that purpose. 

Limestone is abundant in this State, especially in Thomaston 
and Camden, and also in Brunswick, and on Johnson's moun- 
tains. Like all the stratified rocks in the vicinity, its general di- 
rection is from southwest to northeast, and inclined at an angle 
of 45°. This mineral is both foliated and granular ; the grains 
are sometimes very fine and compact ; and if whole, the mass 
resembles loaf sugar. It is commonly white or gray, shaded 
often with blue, green or yellow. It is found in large masses, 



Sect, vi.] of Maine. 177 

and usually in primitive rocks. It occurs with hornblende, mien, 
and quartz, and sometimes gneiss. When burnt into Lime, it is 
in great demand for plastcrinc; rooms. Tiiomaston lime com- 
mands a higher price and quicker market tiian that of Camden, 
owing probably to a superiour granular fineness, in the rock of 
iho former place. 

Tiie Marble is exceedingly fine grained, its predominant col- ''^'ari'loi 
our is a grayish, or bluish-white, diversified with veins of a dif- 
ferent colour, enlivened by silver clouds or deepened with blue 
shades, and exhibits the beauties of a well finished engraving. 
It receives an exquisitely fine polish, and is already used exten- 
tensively for gravestones, for the tahidars of side boards, for 
chimnev pieces and other ornamental works. 

'In 1809 — 10, Col. William Dwight built, in Thomaston, a 
' mill for sawing blocks of lime-rock into slabs for the manufac- 

* turcr's use. Another mill was afterwards erected, and in 

* ihem about 200 saws arc kept constantly going; 10 or 12 

* hands are employed in the works, and between 4 and 5,000 
' feet of marble are annually prepared for market.* 

f 

The second Class of Minerals, which embraces princiiially :.' ^' *''■ 

' • •' Atones, 

curious Stones and Clays, exhibits a greater list than all the three ^'i-avs. 
others. 

A little Cijanite has been found at Brunswick, in primitive i^t''>»'ONESj 
rocks, crystalized and in a prismatic form. It scratches glass, 
is sometimes transparent; its colour ranges between sky and 
Prussian blue, and its lustre is pearly. 

Stnurotide occurs abundantly, in mica-slate, at Winthrop, and Siauroude. 
is also an inhabitant of Sidney and Hallowell. It is hard, though 
it will not strike fire with steel. Its integral parts are prismatic 
crystals, either opaque or pellucid ; its colour is a reddish brown, 
and its lustre somewhat shining. 

Qttnrtz is a celebrated mineral, common in this State. It ap- Qumn. 
pears in amorphous or indefinite masses, as well as in beautiful 
crystals. It scratches glass, elicits sparks with steel, is not quite 
so hard as flint, and in its varieties exhibits itself differently. 
Sometimes it is limpid as " Rock Crystal" and transparent as 
the purest glass ; or smoky and rose-red, both of which have 



"" Limestone is found in Buckfield, Foxcroft, kc. 



178 



Flinu 



Hornstone. 



Basanile. 



Mica. 



Schorl. 



Andalusilc. 



Feldspar 



THE MINERALS [IntrODUC. 

been found in Topsham, and the Amethyst, which is violet-blue. 
Quartz is used for watch seals and ornamental jewelry. 

Few minerals are better known and more necessary, especially 
in time of war, than Flint : for, though it is employed in the 
manufacture of glass and porcelain, its greatest use is in the locks 
of firearms. It has been found in beds of chalk, and even lime- 
stone ; but Mount Kineo, on the eastern margin of Moosehead 
lake is said to be composed entirely of massy flint. It is found 
also in Orono. So easily are gun flints made in England and 
France, by hammering and striking the broken pieces with repeat- 
ed small blows upon the edge of a chisel, that a skilful artisan 
will give to 300 a finished form in one day. 

Hornstone is a rare mineral ; a little mass was found near Bel- 
fast ; also in Topsham. It is not so hard as quartz ; its colour is 
a dull-white, shaded, or clouded with blue, green, or yellow. 
When thin, it exhibits transparent curves, hke horns, and thence 
assumes its name. 

Some rolled pieces of Basanite, a species of the Silicious 
Slate, have been found on the banks cf the Androscoggin, black, 
and as hard as quartz. It ranks among the- best touchstones to 
test the purity of gold. 

Mica, [commonly called Isinglass,''^] appears in thin, flexible, 
elastic laminae, or leaves, with high polish, and glassy lustre. Dr. 
Belknap mentions its abounding appearance in Grafton, N. H. ;f 
and it is seen in different parts of Maine. J Anciently it was much 
used for window glass, particularly in war-ships, as being proof in 
the discharge of cannon. 

Common Schorl in this State, is abundant, especially in Hal- 
lowell, Gardiner, Bowdoinham, Litchfield, and Parker's Island. 
It appears in long prismatic crystals, scratches glass, is very brittle, 
and exhibits a shining velvet-black. It is often transparent, es- 
pecially at the edges, 

A specimen of Andalusite was found in Readfield ; its colours 
vary between red and brown. 

Feldspar, which is an important mineral, is nearly as hard as 
quartz, and its structure is distinctly foliated. When in crystal 



*Acipenser Sturio Ichthyocolla. — Dr. Thacher. 

t Ilis Hist, of New Hampsliirc, 3J vol. p. 141. 
I In Rumford, Paris, and Topsham. 



Sect, vi.] of maink. 179 

masses, it may be easily divided at natural joints. Only that of 
an apple-green colour has been found in this State. 

Axestone took its name from the circumstance of being used Axesione. 
by the natives in lieu of iron, for edge-tools, such as axes, chis- 
els and gouges : several of these articles arc in my possession. 
The fracture of the mineral is somewhat splintery ; and its col- 
our is of a greenish hue, but it is opaque and hard as quartz. 

Several Emeralds have been found in Topsham and Paris, '*"*" ** 
which In the lively and beautiful green they exhibit, are almost 
equal to the finest Peruvian. They arc exceedingly pleasing to 
the eye, and when set in gold, form the richest jewels. 

Of the same ricii and beautiful family, is the Beryl ; found in Beryl, 
coarse grained granite, in and between the towns of Bath and 
North-Yarmouth. Its crystals are large and its green paler than 
the precious emerald. It exhibits hexedral transparent prisms, 
perfectly resembling the Siberian Beryl. 

At Topsham have been found both the precious and common Garnet. 
Garnet ;* its crystals are variable from the size of a pin-head to 
that of an apple ; and in colour, varies from an opaque reddish- 
brown, to a pellucid lively red. 

Two varieties of Epidote occur upon the banks of the An- rpUiotc. 
droscoggin ; it is commonly granular, sometimes crystalline : and 
frequently found in primitive rocks ; it is some shade of green, 
and as hard as quartz. This is a rare stone. 

Hornblende is frequeiuly found ; two varieties of which occur Hornblende 
in Brunswick, contiguous to a bed of primitive lime-stone. Witli 
ditficulty it gives a few sparks with steel ; and its prevailing col- 
ours are black and green, frequently intermixed. 

The Made, a curious mineral is found in small quantities at "^''^ Made. 
Georgetown and Brunswick. It occurs in chrystals, whose 
forms are four-sided prisms, with natural cracks or joints. Its 
colour is eitl>er gray or white, shaded with green or red. It is 
not so hard as quartz. 

But Talc is akogetlicr softer than any of the preceding, and 'T"'** 
may be scratched with the finger-nail. Rubbed on cloth, it 
ieaves a whitish trace which is often pearly. Its prevailing col- 
ours are apple-green and silver-white with intermediate shades ; 



*The Carbuncle of the Ancients was probably a Garnet. — Cleavelnnd. 
<?arnct is found in Bath, Cninswick, Ncw-Glouccstor, and Paris. — Robin- 
'on. 



180 



Chlorite. 



Slate. 



Cl.\ts. 



Potter's 
day. 



Loam. 



Mould. 



Clay arti- 
cles. 



Fuller's 
earth. 



THE MINERALS [IntrODUC. 

as a specimen of it found in Brunswick appears. It may be used 
as chalk. 

Common Chlorite is considerably harder, and may be formed 
into inkstands ; the old Indians used it to make their pipes, 
though it reluctantly yields to the knife. Its colour is a shade 
of green. It is found in veins or cavities of feldspar. 

Slate appears to be the result of decomposition, for it never 
possesses so much as a chrystalline structure. Its uses and ap- 
pearances are well known. It is found on the branches of the 
Kennebec, at Houlton, at Williamsburgh, at the Grand falls of 
the river Penobscot,* and other places. 

Our Clays are common and various ; they have been arranged 
into twelve varieties. 

One is potter's clay, whose colour is grayish-white, shaded with 
blue, green, or yellow. It is smooth, a little unctuous to the 
touch, and when moistened, forms a ductile tenaceous paste, call- 
ed " long paste j" and the purest of this clay is called "pipe 
clay.^^ 

Loam is only potter's clay mingled with sand and the oxide, 
or rust of iron, and, perhaps, the carbonate of lime. Mixed whh 
particles of decomposed, or rotted vegetables, it is denominated 
Mould. Both of these are found abundantly with us. 

Domestic vessels and other articles are moulded of Clay ; and 
when washed and made into paste, and baked, they are enam- 
elled, or glazed, to preserve them from soiling, or absorbing the 
inward liquid. But the oxide, or rust of lead with which this 
glazing is done, is often perilous to health ; because acids and 
oils easily act upon it, to poison the contents of the vessels, such 
as porcelain, stone-ware, common earthen-ware and crucibles. 
Stone-ware, however, is formed of pipe-clay and pulverized flint 
intermixed. A great manufacture, particularly of bricks, tiles, 
and some earthen-ware, has been long and successfully pursued 
in this State. 

Fullcr^s earth, another variety of Clay, is a very useful in- 
gredient in fulling cloth, as it thoroughly cleanses it of all grease. 
It is easily diffused in water without forming a paste. It occurs 
in Newfield, in veins, twenty feet below tlie surface of the earth. 



* J. Bennock, Esq. produced to me a mineral, soft as Talc, in g-lobular 
forms, larg'c as bullets and pigeon's eg'gs, of a dull white colour, tinctured 
^vith yellow — and eac'a one appears to hare been perforated. 



Sect. VI.] OF MAINE. 181 

Umber is of a brown colour, with a lively tinge of yellow. Umber. 
Its texture is fnio and compact, feels dry, and receives a polish 
from the fmgcr. When heated it becomes reddisli.* The na- 
tives paint with this ; and a quantity was found in Bangor, buried 
with an Indian's spears, and other implements of (lint and axe- 
stone. By way of experiment, it was used as paint, and exhib- 
ited a lively red, of a shade between vermilion and Spanish- 
brown. 



The third Class embraces such minerals as are susccptiLIe of 3d Class. 
combustion. They are seldom crystallized, and in their specifie blks. 
gravity, they are light. 

The species to be mentioned arc only four, — Anthracite, Gra- Amhracite-. 
phite, Coal, and Peat; and hitherto these have been found 
among us in small quantities. Anthracite occurs at Hebron and 
Thomaston, entirely opaque and grayish-black, strongly resem- 
bling coal, though harder and heavier. It burns slowly without 
flame, smoke or odour. Graphite is found at Bath, Gorhani, '"f"'®* 
Paris, and Freeport, in granite ; at Brunswick, in limestone ; 
and alluvial, on the banks of the Androscoggin. It consists of 
minute grains, is nearly iron-black, and is easily scraped with a 
knife. Pulverized, mixed with oil, and applied to stoves, it se- 
cures them from rust and gives them a gloss ; and compounded 
with clay, it is formed into the best crucibles : The purest kind 
is manufactured into lead pencils. Coal and Peat, though sup- peg,* 
posed to be abundant in our swamps and bogs, have not yet been 
tiie objects of much search, inasmuch as they have not been 
needed for fuel. 



Thejonrth C/«55 embraces metallic substances, or 07T5,f of .■\ii;rALs. ' 
which, few species have been yet discovered among us. 

A species of Copper has been found at Brunswick — a metal "^^"' 
highly useful in ship building and brass foundries, as well as in 
forming a very necessary and convenient currency. Alloyed 
with zinc, it becomes brass and pinchbeck ; and compoimded 
with tin it is the principal ingredient of bronze. The oxides 



* Red Ochre is found in lar^e quantities on the west branch of Penob- 
scot, Pleasant river, and in Buck field. 

t A mineral spring, IC miles from Stillwater, on and near the Bcnuock 
road, has been discovered ; it is evidently impregnated with iron. 



1 82 THE MINERALS OF MAINE. [IntrODUC. 

and salts of copper are quite poisonous, and therefore vessels 
made of that metal ought not to be used in kitchen cookery. 

Iron. Iron is the hardest, the most common and useful, of all the 

metals. Different species of it have been found at Hallowell and 
Winthrop : and the native magnet, or loadstone, has occurred, it 
is said, at Topsham. The magnetic oxide of iron, found at Paris, 
Clinton, Sunkhaze, and Buckfield, yields the best bar-iron — the 
ore from which the Swedish iron, so much esteemed, is forged. 

Bog-ore. Bog-ore is not rare among us, in low grounds, and will produce 
33^ per cent, of cast iron. 

Lead. One species of Lead has been found at Topsham and Exeter j 

it is a mineral much used : but it is unsuitable for aqueducts ; for 
when constantly wet, or moist, it is gradually oxidated and poisons 
the water. 

Molybdena. Molyhdena is silver-white, brittle, and so hard as to be melted 
with difficulty in a furnace. Specimens of it occur on the banks 
of the Androscoggin. 

Although the precious metals were among the principal objects 
of the first voyagers to this country ; it is certain neither gold nor 
silver has been discovered in this State ; nor yet mercury, tin, 
zinc, nor platina. Indeed, no minerals have been extensively 
wrought among us, except the limestone. 

Note. — According to the treatise on American JSIinerah and their Lo- 
caii^ie* by Samuel Robinson, M. D., there has been found at Phipsburg-, 
Chalcedony ; at Belfast and on the Penobscot, Jasper ; at Paris, RubelliCc, 
Lepidulite, of great beauty, and Tourmaline, green and blue ; and at Rum- 
ford, yellow Ochre. 



HISTORY OF MAINE. 



i$$9i 



CHAPTER I. 

The Spaniards, EngUsIi and Ficnrh in America — Gosnold's and 
Pring's Vuyagii — The claims of the English and French — Pa- 
tent of Acailia to dc Minits — His visit to Port-Itoyal, Passama- 
quoddy and Penobscot — Weymouth's Viixc of Penobscot and oth- 
er places — Xorth and South-Virginia Patent and Council — 
Chalon's and Ilanham's Voyages — The Settlement of a Colony 
attempted (d Sagadahoc — The Government — Intercourse with the 
Natives — DlJJiculties with them — Disasters The Colonists re- 
turn to England. 

At the close of the 16th century, tlie northern coasts of the a. d 16oo. 
American continent, had become generally known to the nations 
of Europe ; several parts having been frequently visited for the 
purposes of discovery, fishing and traffic ; and attempts made at 
a few places, to establish settlements. Newfoundland, about this ,\>„foun(i- 
tinie, was attracting particular notice. Its surrounding waters, ''^"'^^"''^*" 
were already, in a single season, visited by three or four hundred 
fishing vessels, under English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese 
flags ; and on the shores were seen more than one hundred hab- 
itations, or stages, constructed for the accommodation of Fisher- 
men.* 

The Spaniards had selected the region about and below the '^''*',?P''": 
equator ; and were acquiring rich and extensive possessions in "'"' J^"si'sh 
those parts of the hemisphere. Its nortliern sections very early "«. 
attracted the attention of the French ; and their adventurers had 
long since explored the St. Lawrence, and taken formal posses- 
sion of its borders. Yet the project of forming permanent 
settlements upon its banks, which had been delayed fifty years, 



■^ These were not permanent settlements: the first birth on tlie Island, 
of European parents, was March 27, 1013. — Prrncti Annals., p. 37. 



184 THE HISTORY [VoL. I, 

A. D. 1600. by the civil wars, appeared, at this period, merely to be reviving. 
Certainly that people had hitherto done nothing more, than to 
engross its lucrative trade, and make extensive claims to its terri- 
tory. The intermediate Latitudes presented strong invitations to 
British enterprize; several Englishmen, influenced by hopes of 
discovery, and motives of gain had been already concerned in 
expensive voyages hither; and some of them, particularly Sir 
Walter Raleigh, having been assiduously labouring for several 
years, to plant a Colony in the vicinity of Chesapeake-bay. But 
this and all the other efforts and expeditions were productive of 
no considerable benefits to the adventurers, nor lasting good to 
their country ; otherwise than being promotive of the political 
establishments which have since risen into independent States. 
pj„ (^^[g^j^j^ For, as a correct writer says, though "110 years had elapsed 
111 N.Amcr-gjjjpg j.}^g j-,g^y world had been known to the old ;" and thoueh a 

lea. ' o 

few emigrant fishermen had a temporary residence at Newfound- 
land ; " neither the French, the Dutch, the English, nor any but 
Spaniards had made the smallest effectual settlements in the 
new-discovered regions."* 

All knowledge of the interiour country, its geography and re- 

The o^co^- 

raphyofliie sources was exceedingly limited; and all acquaintance with its 
known.^ "" bays, inlets, shores, rivers and highlands, was quite imperfect* 
The best charts, then extant, were rude sketches of the coasts 
and harbours ; and few men were bold enough to explore a land 
clothed with heavy forests, and filled with ignorant savages. 
Therefore in compiling the History of this State, it is necessary 
to commence among the shades of nature ; and thence trace 
the progress of that improvement, which has gradually laid deep 
and strong the foundations of our present liberty and prosperity. 
— In the several adventures and voyages, to this Continent, we 
find no account of any one, who visited the waters or shores of 
Maine, before A. D. 1 602. 
B.GosnoWs Bartholomew Gosnold, an English navigator, of skill and ex- 

VoyJige, , '-^ '^ _ . 

1602. perience, who had previously crossed the Atlantic in the usual 

route, by the Canaries and the West-Indies, entertained a belief, 
that a course direct from England was practicable, and would 
probably shorten the distance an hundred leagues. Furnished 



* Princess Annals, ip. 1,2, 0,11. — Canada and Nova Scotia, were under 
the English crown till A. D. 1600; when the French did possess themselve* 
of L'acadia.— 1 Coll. J^I. Hist. Soc. p. 232— 3d series. 



Chap, i.] OF MAINE. 185 

with a small bark to try the experiment, he sailed from Falmouth, a.d. 1602. 
March 26lh, 1602, attended by 32 persons, of whom eight only 
were mariners ; and proceeding west by the compass, as directly 
as the winds would permit, made land, May 4th, at or about the 
43d degree of nortii laiimde. It is not fully ascertained what 
land he first discovered. — It might have been Mount Desert or 
Agamenticus ; for a skilful navigator, three years afterwards, 
found that Capt. Gosnold had marked places in this region, at 
half a degree below the true latitude ; and it is certain that the 
central Isle of Shoals, which is in lat. 42*' 29 * — is south of the 
land he first saw. ' Meeting with a shallop of European fabric, 
' in which were eight savages, and seeing one of them dressed in 
' European clothes, Gosnold and his associates were led to con- 
* elude, that some unfortunate fishermen of Biscay, or Brittany, 
' had been wrecked on the coast.' They immediately sailed to 
the southerly side of Cape Cod ; and on the ISth of June, re- 
embarked for England. f 

But though we have doubts, whether Gosnold ever saw any ^*'^'" 

^ ' •' Pnnp $ 

lands of ours ; it is certain our shores were actually visited the ^".vago, 
following year, by another voyager, Martin Pring. Through 
tlie influence and generosity of the city-oflicers and several mer- 
chants of Bristol, in England, Richard Hackluyt, Prebendary of 
St. Augustine Church, Robert Aldsworth, and others; £1000 
sterling were raised, and two vessels procured, equipped and 
victualed for a western voyage of eight months. The Speedwell, 
one of them, a ship of 50 tons, with a crew of 30 men and boys, 
was commanded by Pring himself. The master of the other, a 
bark of 2G tons, called the Discoverer, carrying 13 men and a 
boy, was William Browne ; and Robert Salterns, who had at- 
tended Gosnold to America three years before, was appointed 
supercargo, or principal agent of the expedition. The adven- 
turers were furnished with various kinds of clothing, hardwares, 

* 7 Coll. JSIast. Hist. Soc. p. 243.— Weymouth, in 1608, found the chart 
of this coast "erroneous." 

t 5 Pvrchas, p. 1647, 1651.— Gosnold was afterwards one of the Council 
in Virginia, where lie died, Auj;. 22, 1607. — Purrlms, 1690.— Capt. Smith, 
[in hit Hist. p. 18.] says, Robert Salterns was Gosnold's pilot. — 1 Belfcnap't 
BtJj:. p. 231— 2.39;— corrected, 2 Belk. Biog. p. 100— 123.— I Holmu' 
^nn. p. 142. n. 3, 4. 

Vot I, 13 



1 86 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1603, and trinkets, for the purpose of trading with the Natives, and 
procuring a cargo of sassafras* and furs. 

The two vessels left Milford-Haven, April 10, 1603, a few 

i)«y and days after the death of queen Elizabeth ; and, passing in sight of 
the Azores, fell in with the American coast, June 7th, between 
the 43d and 44th degrees of north latitude, among a multitude of 
Islands, in the waters since called Penobscot bay.f Pring and 
his companions were highly pleased with the view they had of " a 
high country full of great woods ;" and happy to find good moor- 
ing and fishing among the Islands. Upon one of these, they saw 
silver gray ybares; whose name they gave to the whole cluster,J; 
the principal of which are the north and south Fox-Islands,<§> 
The cod and haddock, which they took in great plenty, were es- 
teemed by them superior to those usually taken at Newfoundland. 

^"h"' i!^^"' From this place, they sailed along the coast, southerly ; and 

York, and passing the Islands of Casco bay, entered the mouth of a river, 

I'iscataqua '■ ^ •' _ _ 

rivers. over a bar, probably the Saco,|| which they ascended, in a good 
depth of water, about two leagues. They proceeded next, to 
visit the other two nearest inlets, which must have been the rivers 
Kennebunk and York 5 but these, the Narrator says, they " did 
not pierce so far into the land." The westerly one, [evidently 
the Piscataqua,] they found to be the most important of the four ; 
and a party of them examined its channel for three or four 
leagues. 

They made particular mention of " the very goodly groves and 
woods, and sundry sorts of beasts" seen by them. But being un- 
able to procure sassafras, or to find any of the natives with whom 
to traffic; and concluding from the appearances of recent fires, 
and the vestiges of habitations, that they must have lately gone 
from the shores, and might not soon return, Pring and Browne 
sailed to places farther southward ; and, leaving the coast in Au- 
gust, carried home valuable cargoes, and among other curiosities, 

* Sassafras principally ; (1 Holmes'' A. Ann. p IIG,] — for it was esteem- 
ed hijlily medicinal, and celebrated as a sovereign remedy for the plag-ue, 
the strangury, the stone, the scurvy and other maladies. One of Gos- 
nold's men had been cured by it in 12 hours, of a surfeit, occasioned by 
excessively eating of dogfish, then considered a delicious dish. — 2 Belk. 

Biog. p. 126 7. Also the Voyage of Carter to Canada. — 1 Bdk. Biog. 

p. 176, in note [*]. f Called by the French " Pentagoet." 

I 2 Belk. Biog. p. 125. J Incorporated jMne25, 1789, Vinalhavm. 

I " Shawakotock"— Frenc/i — Chouakoct— 2 Bdk, Biog, 149. 



Chap, i.] of Maine. 187 

a canoe, as a specimen of aboriginal ingenuity. Gorges, in liis a. D. 1603. 
History, says, Pring made a perfect discovery of all these eastern 
rivers and harbours ; and brought the most exact account of the 
coast that had ever come to hand.* 

The French as well as the English were repeating their visitsf '^'•f .'^'■<'"<^|> 
to this nortliern country every year; and making it, at home, ainN. Amer- 
favourite topic of conversation and enquiry. Both were highly 
elated with ideas of extensive foreign dominions ; and the pros- 
pect of an abounding commerce ; yet the means and measures 
best fitted for their attainment, were altogether unknown, as well 
to the sage as to the speculator. JMore of plan, organization and 
vigor, was necessary ; for past experience had rendered it certain, 
that rights to territory arising from mere discovery, nominal pos- 
session, or royal commission, were too slender to be seriously de- 
fended. Nothing short of actual well-organized settlements un- 
der the auspices of their respective governments, could give to 
entcrprize success and permanency. 

But it was a great misfortune to those nations, and no less to 
this country, that they both coveted the same territories ; and 
were using all practicable means for establishing severally in 
themselves, the most plausible titles to their claims. Twenty 
years before, Humphry Gilbert, in behalf of queen Elizabeth, 
had taken formal possession of Newfoundland, and the region 
200 leagues about it ; and there promulgated sundry laws.J 
The JMarquis de la Roche, fifteen years afterwards, was commis- 
sioned by his master, the IVth Henry of France, to conquer and 
colonize all the regions bordering upon the St. Lawrence, denom- 
inated Canada, and unlimited in extent ; and three years after his 
death, another of similar import was granted, or the same renew- 
ed to M. de Chauvin, who immediately carried colonists 90 lea- 
gues up the St. Lawrence, and settled them at Tadousac.^ 
These are instances only of preliminary transactions. — The people 
of both nations were resolved in their purposes ; and widi such 
objects in view, and tlie rival feelings, which each indulged to 



• 5 Purchas, p. 1654 — 6 — Prinj made a second voynge in 1608. 2 Bilk. 

Biog. p. 149.— Prince'j .inn. p. 19, note [10].— Smith's Hist. p. 18.-1 
Holmes" A. Ann. p. 145. 

t One Savelct, an old mariner had, before 1609, made no less than 42 
voyages to these parts. — Parchat, p. 1640, 

\ 1 Belknap's Biog. p. 200. § 1 CharUroix jY. France. 109—111. 



188 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1603. wards the other, it might have heen easily foreseen that uhimately, 
these counter possessory claims would produce the severest ex- 
citements, if not war. 

By a royal patent,* November 8th, A. D. 1603, the same 

D(? .Mollis' Henry, granted to Pierre de Gast Sieure de Monts. all the 

patent of •' ° 

Acaciie American territory between the 40th and 46th degrees of north- 
ern latitude ; and appointed him Lieutenant-general of this exten- 
sive region, with authorhy to colonize and rule it according to his 
discretion ; and to subdue and christianize its native inhabitants. 
The name given it in the patent was " Acadia,^'' or Acadie, an 
abbreviation or corruption of Arcadia in Greece. f This char- 
ter or patent, having no other boundaries or confiineSj than the de- 
grees of latitude mentioned, was found to embrace the American 
coast between the Island Cape Breton, south of Newfoundland, 
and the shores below the mouth of the river Manhattan, now 
Hudson ; and was soon published in all the maritime towns in 
France. To him and his associates were afterwards conceded 
an exclusive peltry trade, not only throughout his colony but around 
the gulf of St. Lawrence. J 
March 7. De Monts, in the course of the winter, procured and equiped 

Voyage. two vessels ; and, furnishing them with suitable necessaries, sailed 
for America, March 7th, 1604. His familiar companion was M. 
de Poutrincourt, who had been, a long time desirous of visiting 
this country ; and his pilot was Samuel Champlain, a gentleman 
of noble birth and of skill in navigation, who had, the preced- 
ing year, explored the St. Lawrence. Of the adventurers in the 
retinue of de Monts, some were Catholics and some Protes- 
tants ; — his own tenets however were of the latter order. 
May 6. He Arriving, May 6th, at Cape de la Heve, in Lat. 44° 5,' on the 
p'rcvlice. southerly side of the Acadian Peninsula, they came to anchor 
opposite the present Liverpool in Nova Scotia. But they soon 
left this place ; and sailing northerly around Cape Sable into the 
bay of Fundy, and eastvvardly along) the northern shores of the 

*See this Patent entire in French. — 1 Ilaz. Coll. p. 45 : Also Appendix, 
post, translated. — The orthography of the 7iaine is varied much by different 
writers as, " Lacadie''' — '■^Acadie''' — '■'■Accadif — " Accadia." «' L'Acadie" — 
♦' Nous elant" des long' temps a infornies de la situation, des bays et territorie 
Ae V Acadia — is the lang-uage of the patent, whence it would seem the 
country might have been previously called in France by that name. 

f Brit. Dum. in America, bk, 3d. pt. II. p. 246. 

1 1, Holmes A. Ann, p. 147, 



Chap, i.] of Maine. 189 

peninsula, entered a spacious basin, environed by hills and mea- A. D. 16W 
dovvs, and anchored in a good harbour. Poutrincourt was so 
charmed with the beautiful appearance of the place, that he chose 
it for his future residence. Obtaining readily a grant of it from 
de Monts, which the King afterwards confirmed, he gave it the 
name of Port Royal, now Annapolis ; and here his party dwelt 
for several years.* 

In exploring the bay of Fundy, de Monts visited the river St. 
John, and gave it the name, it has ever since borne. Thence he 
j)rocccded into the waters of Passamaquoddy bay, ascended the 
Schoodic to a small island, which Champlain selected for a rest- 
ing place, and a fortification. 

As I*assamaquod(iy Hay and the Schoodic river now form a 
part of the Eastern boundary of this State, a more particular ac- 
count of its first discovery and situation may not be uninteresting. 
De JMonts and his men called the bay a sea of salt water ; and 
in ascending the river found it an inconsiderable one, admitting 
vessels even on the tide to no great distance. The Island itself, 
containing 12 or 15 acres, they called St. Croix, because two 
leagues higher, there were brooks which came " crosswise, to fall 
within this large branch ot the sea ;" — a circumstance which has 
given to the Schoodic the same name. The Island is situa- 
ted just above the northeast corner of Robbinston. Its soil is fer- 
tile ; and it is usually the residence of one family. The Inhabit- 
ants often call it " JVeutral Island.^^j- 

L'Escarbot says, " it was half a league in circuit, seated in the 
" midst of the river ; the ground most excellent, and abundantly 
" fruitful ; strong by nature and easy of defence, but difficult to 
" be found. For [says he] there are so many isles and great 
" bays to pass, [from the St. John] before we come to it, I won- 
" der how one ever pierced so far as to find it. The woods of 
*' the rtiain land are fair and admirably high and well grown, as 
" in like manner is the grass. There is right over against the 
" island fresh water brooks, very pleasant and agreeable, where 
" divers of Mons. de Monts' men transacted their business and 
" builded certain cabins." 

* 1. Holmes'' A. Ann. p. 148. J^ote 5. — (lie settlement at Purt Roval com- 
menced the next year. L'Escarbot — 5 Purclias, 1622. 

t This character and account is according' to a late map of N. Scotia, and 
a plan and letter from a gentleman in that lactioo. 



190 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D, 1604. The season being far advanced, de Monts concluded to pass 
HisFortifi. the whiter upon the island. Apprehending; dancer from the sava- 

cation al tlie . . ^ ' o o 

St. Croix, ges, he erected a fortification on the north part of it, which en- 
tirely commanded the river. The fort was sheltered by trees, 
which he directed not to be felled ; and within its walls he plant- 
ed his cannon and constructed a chapel, after the Indian manner of 
building. " Hoary snow-father being come," (as L'Escarbot ex- 
presses himself,) " they were forced to keep much wuhin the 
" doors of their dwellings during the winter. But as there was not 
" plenty of wood, which had been too prodigally used in build- 
" ing ; and a want of fresh water, which was found on the banks 
" of the river strongly enclosed under locks of ice ; they were 
" under the necessity of procuring both h'om the shores every 
" day." Some of the savages were occasionally bespoken ; and 
through fear of surprize or assault from them, who had a lodgement 
at the foot of the Island, and appeared to be jealous, de Monts 
kept a constant watch night and day. 

The winter was severe, and the sufferings of the people from the 
scurvy very grevious ; not one wholly escaped it ; and 36 out of 
70'^ actually died before spring. At the usual seed-time, they 
prepared a piece of ground and sowed it with rye ; and being 
absent in the first season of reaping, they gathered in the second 
year a growth of it, in the narrator's w^ords " as fair, big and 
weighty as in France." — This, being a mere temporary residence, 
could never have assumed any considerable importance ; had it 
not been the first pretension of a settlement in Acadie.f 

* Ogllby .sajs, " ninety-seven." 

I See Mark UEscarboCs Hist, of d'' Monts' Voyages, translated in 3 
Churchiirs Coll. 796; abridged in 5. Purcha^ Pilgrims p. 1619. (//arv. 
Coll. Library.) U Escarhot was Iiiinsclf with de Monts in this voyage. 
*' Ti^ie people (lie says) tliat be from St. John's river to Kennibeki, wherein 

" are the rivers St. Croix and jYoromhegua are called Etechemins." 

The rive. St. Croix was made a part of the boundary line in the treaty 
of 1783 between England and the United States; and afterwards a dis- 
pute arose which of the two was that river, the Schoodic or the Magaguad- 
crick [Magadavi,] both emptying into Passamaqnoddy-bay. — the mouth of 
the former being 3 or 4 leagues distant from that of the latter. To set- 
tle the controversy, Commissioners were appointed by the two govern- 
ments ; and in 1798, they visited those places ; and found an Island in the 
Schoodic-river which corresponded, with the description given of that 
where de Monts and his party passed the winter 1G04 — 5. Near its up- 
per end were the remains of an ancient fortification " overgrown with 



Chap, i] of Maine. 191 

When tlie survivors of ihe party had sufficiently recovered A. D. 1C05. 
their strength ; dc Moats put his provisions and arms on hoard j^ j^jont, 
his pinnace, and about the middle of May [1G05] he and his g,'^ q^^'j);' 
men embarked in search of a more convenient station, and a 
^varmcr climate. In ranging the coast westvvardly, they entered 
ihe bay of Penobscot, which with the neighbouring country, some 
European adventurers had previously understood by the Natives, 
was called JS'orombcgua.* At Kennebec, they erected a cross, 
and took possession in the name of their king ; and after visiting 
Casco bay and Saco river proceeded to Cape Cod. Some of 
the places they passed, appeared inviting and suitable for settle- 
ment ; but their company was small ; the savages numerous, un- 
friendly, and thievish ; — tlierefore they returned to St. Croix, 
and soon proceeded to Port Royal, 

Here be met M. Dupont and an accession of 40 men, with 
fresh supplies, in a ship from France ; and removing the remain- 
der of his property from the Island St. Croix, across the bay, 
he lodged it with his other stores at the mouth of the river empty- 
ing into the basin of Port Royal. At this place he proceeded 
to construct a fort and a few habitations ; and when he had made 
due disposition of his affairs, he and Poutrincourt, in September, 
sailed for France ; leaving Dupont, Champlain, and Chauvin, to 
explore the country and perfect the settlement. 

To avoid the jealousy of tiie French, and at the same time to Orrrge 
secure the advantages of prior possession, and continual claim ; ,„< luhs 
several English gentlemen, — the Earl of Southampton, Thomas jy)"aVch 31. 
[lord] Arundel and their associates, despatched George Wey- 
mouth across the Atlantic, on a pretended discovery ot a north- 
west passage, which, it was still believed, might be found. Wey- 
mouth sailed March 31st, from the Downs; and, probably, he 
was not disappointed, May II th, when he came in sight of the 

large trees," the foundation stones of which were traced to a considerable 
extent. 1 Holms' A. Ann. p. 149, Note 3. These were among the facts 
and reasons which induced the Commissioners to determine, that the Schoo- 
dic is the St. Croix. See post A. D. 1798. 

* 1 Bdlrnap's Biog. p. 32S. — 2 //. 149. «' Noronibega was a part of the 
same district comprehending' Penobscot bay and river, but its eastern 
and western limits are not described." — See 5 Pvrchasy p. 1625, 1632. — 
See 1 Holmei A. Ann. 74, note 4th and his quotations. Purcha-t says, 
*' Peniptegoet is that place so famous under the name of ^'orombrga.''' 



192 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1605. American coast, as far south] as in latitude 41° 30\ near Cape 
Cod. Being embayed among shoals, he ran northwardly from 
the 14th to the 17th of the month, a distance of 50 leagues, and 
anchored about noon on the north side of a prominent Island, in 
40 fathoms of water. 
Revisits This Island he found to be situated about 3 leagues from the 

and St main land, and to lie in an oblong shape from northeast to south- 
west. It was, as fair land to fall in with, (he said) as could be 
desired ; having a good land fall and bold shore, free of sands 
and rocks ; and though of " no great compass," it contained, 
probably, 1000 acres. Seafowl here were plenty ; and the mar- 
iners, in fishing, caught " 30 large cod and haddock." Wey- 
mouth called the Island " St. George ;" but it was afterwards 
ascertained to be Monhegan ; " as no other Island hereabouts 
answers the description."* Since that time, it has been a most 
noted station, or landmark for mariners ; and was early inhabited. 
According to Capt. Weymouth's journal, he sailed, May 19th, 
about two or three leagues northward, among the Islands, towards 
the highlands and mountains in sight; and, finding good anchor- 
age, " defended (as he says) from all winds, in an excellent 
depth of water for ships of any burthen, upon a clay ooze, very 
tough, where was good mooring even near the rocks by the cliff 
side," he named the place " Pentecost harhoiir,'''' — now George's 
Island-harbour, a well known haven at the mouth of St. George's 

river. 

Here the master and men regaled themselves several days and 

recruited their strength. Before being visited by the Natives, he 

and a party properly armed, explored the islands and shores ; 

while his sailors, engaged in fishery, readily took " plenty of sal- 

*' mon and otlier fishes of great bigness ; good lobsters, rock-fish, 

*' plaice and lumps ;" " and with two or three hooks, caught 

*' enough of cod and haddock, to supply the ship's company for 

*' three days. Upon the lands they found various sorts of trees, 

besides vines, currents, spruce, yew, angelica and divers gums ;" 

and about the shores," abundance of great muscles, some of which 

contained pearls ; fourteen being taken from a single one. 



*2 Belk. Biog. 137 — 150 {Capt JVilliamg'' observations.] The orthogra- 
phy of Monhegan, a word of Indian extraction, is various in ditfereut aa- 
thors— " Monhii^jon"— « Munhig^on," 8 Coll. JIass. H. Soc. p. 225. 227 — 
IJuhbard's Indian Wars, j). 280, " INlonhinon."— i'rmr^'i Annal$t 127. ICl. 



Chap, i.] OF MAINE. 193 

On the 22d, says the Journalist, "we digsed a garden, sowed a. D ieo5. 
"peas and barley and 2;arden-seeds, whicli in 10 days jrrew up 
" eisrlit inches ; although this was but the crust of the c;roinid, and 
" much inferior to the mould we afterwards found on the main." 
T/ic:ic tcere the first fniits of culture on these Islands or shores. 

The discovery of a great bay and river, the Penobscot, divert- nopxplorrs 
ed their attention from a trade with the Indians, for 5 or G days;Ij^„ii,^ju',',o 
which were passed in exploring those waters and the contiguous 
lands. Leaving, for that })urpose, Pentecost-harbour, on the 1 0th 
or 11th of June, they proceeded nortluvardly, by estimation, six- 
ty miles. In their progress up Penobscot bay, they came to 
anchor on the 12tli, not far from the land, abreast the moun- 
tains, since called Penobscot-hills, [now Camden heiglits] ; and 
ten of them went ashore and amused themselves in hunting. 

' The next day,' says the account, ' we ascended in our pinnace, 
'that part of the river which inclines more to the westward, 
[probably Belfast bay,* or possibly the waters between the lower 
part of Orphan Island and the main,] carrying with us a cross — 

* a thing never omitted by any Christian travellers, which we 

* erected at the ultimate end of our route. 'f 

These adventurers were much delighted, the whole way, with 
the novel and picturesque scenery, which the verdant country pre- 
sented at this season. For they not only listened to the notes of 
the wood birds among the branches with delight, but they found 
the waters of the river to be wide, deep and glassy ; — its margin 
adorned with coves and green borders of grass ; and, " many (says 
"the Journal) who liad been travellers in sundry countries and in 
" most famous rivers, affirmed them not comparable to this — the 
*' most beautiful, rich, large, secure harbouring river that the 
*' world affordeth." These were the enthusiastic expressions, 
this tour inspired, as the visitants departed reluctantly, on tlieir 
return to St. Georges, J 

* In 1 PuTchas, 755, it is said, Weymouth " discovered tiiree score miles 
lip a most ^excellent river;" — and liic Journal, (in 2 I?(//r, Zii'o^. p. 144,) 
says, " we passed six or seven miles in altof^etlicr frcsli water, whereof we 
all dr.-ink ;" — this must have boon above Marsh bay ; for in this bay the 
waters arc always salt. 

t J« one author, ( 1 Holmes' A. Ann, p. 150.) it is said, he "set up 
crosses in several places," 

I See James Hosier's account of this voyage— 5 Piirchas, 1C59- 1676; 
abridged,— 2 Dclk-. Biog. p. IJO. 



194 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. icoa. Their Intercourse with the natives was in the end unfortunate, 
though at first attended with mutual friendship and satisfaction. 

His inter- r i • • i i i i • i i 

cour e with The annahst says,§ ' they visited us on board, lying upon deck 

the Natives. . , , ' • i i i • r 

' With us, and we ashore with them, changing man lor man as 

* hostages. — We treated them very kindly, because we intended 

* to inhabit their country ; — and they readily traded with us — the 
' exchange of their furs for our knives, glasses, combs and toys, — 
' being of great profit to us ; — for instance, one gave 40 skins of 
' beaver, otter and sable, for articles of five shillings' value.' 

It seems, however, that a rupture happened between the par- 
ties about the first of June, after which, Capt. Weymouth seized 
five of the savages, whom he had confined in the hold of his 
vessel. To rescue the unhappy prisoners, or avenge the wrong, 
their countrymen discovered no great determination, as they ap- 
peared only to seek for an opportunity to effect it by means ol 
artifice. At one time, coming and pointing eastward to the main, 
they " signified, that the Bashaba, their king, had plenty of furs 
" and much tobacco." Indeed, during the late excursion up the 
Penobscot, three Indians came in a canoe to the pinnace, and 
were earnest to have one of the crew " go with them to the Ba- 
" shaba, and the next morning he would return with furs and to- 
" bacco." But the stratagems thus used to draw the men away 
from the ship, were too flimsy to be successful ; and not long after 
the middle of June, Weymouth weighed anchor and bore off his 
booty to England. 

Smith, in his History, thus relates the above incident.* — ' The 
' natives came and desired the captain to go and trade with their 

* Bashaba, on the main, who was their chief lord ; and he ac- 
' cordingly manned the yawl with 14 men for the purpose.' ' Yet,' 
says he, ' would they row faster with five oars in their canoes, 
' than our men could their boat with eight. At the shore was 
' exchanged one Owen Griffin, for a young fellow of the savages. 
' -Griffin discovered their treachery, finding 283 savages, armed 
' with bows and arrows, without any such articles of traffic as they 
' had pretended to have.' These suspicious circumstances gave 
umbrage ; and the first who afterwards came on board were 
three whom Capt. Weymouth kept ; and two others were with 
' much ado seized on the shore. There were also two canoes 

* Smith's Hist. p. 18—20 Prince's Ann. 14. f Smith's Hist. p. 18. 



Chap, i.] OF MAINE. 195 

' taken, and several bows and arrows.' Four of these unhappy A. D. 1605. 
men were Tisqiiantum, j\laniclay Sheiwarroes and ^Issecomoit ,* 
one being a Sagamore and three of the others, persons of rank. 
Tiie first three, Capt. Weymouth dchvered to Sir Feudinando 
GoROKs, Governor of Plymouth, as soon as he arrived in that 
seaport ; who kept them in his family diree years. f After learn- 
ing to speak the English language, they amused him with 
numerous legendary tales, and imparted to hiui many things as 
facts, which he was strongly inclined to credit. 

But neither the fruits of this voyage, nor yet the possession 
taken of the country, could counterbalance the ill effects of Wey- 
mouth's treatment of the Natives. For the forfeiture of trade and 
of their hospitality ; the hatred of the English name ; revenge and 
cruelties, were tlie consequences which might be expected for this 
oflence. Surely never were men's conduct more impolitic, since 
it was full half of their errand to pave the way for a colonial es- 
tiblishment and future trade. 

These, and much baser improprieties, however, appear not to 
have been much regarded at home. But the descriptions given 
of this country by voyagers, fishermen and tradesmen ; the profits 
of its commerce ; the sight of the natives carried across the At- 
lantic ; the propagation of " Christianity in the dark corners of 
the earth ;" and the claims of the French to tlic country, had 
tlieir several] and full effects, to excite the attention of the Eng- 
lish public, and to inspire influential individuals with fresh ardour 
in the prosecution of American enterprizes. The grant to Sir 
Walter Raleigh, 22 years before, had become void by his attain- 
der ; and no obstacle seemed to lie in the way of anodier grant 
to any person, who had influence with the crown. 

An association of English gentlemen, therefore was now form- ^onh and 
ed, for the purpose of planting colonists on the American coasts ; p°"|^'I.'^" 
and of bringing the infidel savages to a knowledge of die '^"'* 

* 1 Bclk: Biog. 347 Prince's Ann. 15. 18. 

f 2 Bclk. Biog. 135 — 150. — Sir Ferdinando Gorgcsis, now first introdu- 
ccil to us, a gentleman of great energy, and in the prime of life, only 30 
years of age. He died A. D. 1646. The savages seized, Gorges says, 
"were all of one nation, but of several parts and several families. This 
accident iniisl be acknowledged, (lie means \UKlcr God of putting on foot 
nud giving life to all our pluntutions." 



196 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1606 Christian religion ; to the true worship of God ;* to civilized life ; 
and to a settled government. These men, so associated, king James 
I. by Patent, April 10, 1606, incorporated agreeably to their 
own choice, into two Companies^ under one and the same Gen- 
eral Council of Government : wherein Messrs. Gates. Somers, 
Hackluyt, Wingfield and their associates, belonging to the city of 
London, and called the London Company, or Ji?'st Colony of 

Isl Colony. 1 J ^ 

Virginia, formed one branch ; and Thomas Hanham, Raleigh 
Gilbert, William Parker, George Popham and others of Plymouth, 
in the county of Devon or " elsewhere, who might associate," form- 
ed the other, and were called the Plymouth Company, or the " Sec- 
2d Colony. ^^^ CoLONY." The country granted, extended from the 34th, 
to the 45th degree of north latitude, and included all the islands 
within 100 miles of the coast; the whole being known by the 
general name of ^ JS^orth and South V^irginia.^'f l^he Jirst Col- 
ony was permitted to begin a plantation, at any place below the 
41st degree of north latitude; and the second Colony, anywhere 
above the 38th degree. There was also provided a judicious 
precaution against any unhappy interference ; for it was further 
stipulated, that the colony which might be planted the last of the 
two, should not begin a settlement within 100 miles of the other. 
Connciisof The government ordaiued, was this, viz : — A general " Council 
meiit. of Virginia,''^ consisting of thirteen men appointed by the crown, 
and residents in England ; who • were vested with a paramount 
jurisdiction, to be exercised according to such ordinances, as 
should be given them under the royal sign manual : And also two 
Subordinate Councils, each of thirteen members, living in Amer- 
ica, named in the same way, were created, for ruling, and man- 
aging the interior affairs of each colony, agreeably to the king's 
instructions. 

This was a Charter of rights as well as a patent of territory ; 
though all sales of lands by the Colonial councils were to be 
confirmed by the crown, — to pass the fee. Every colonist, and 
his children, were to be citizens of the realm ; — the coinage of 
money was authorized ; — and importations of " all useful chattels, 
armor, and furniture from the British dominions" into the Colo- 
nies, were granted and allowed for seven years, duty free. The 

* Tlie declared intent of llie adventurers was to propagate God's holy 
C\inTch.—Hubhard''s His. K. E, M. -f 1 Douglas Summ. p. 5. 



Chap, i.] of MAINE. I97 

Colonists were moreover fully empowered to seize or expel intru- \. D. icoa. 
dors ; and to exact taxes and duties for their own benefit. 

Such is the outline of ti)is important patent ;* which w ithont fii.ilonx' 
any other boundaries than the parallels of latitude mentioned, l!!.msV»/- 
embraced at the eastward, most of the Acadian peninsula. Imptv- ''^'*' 
ticnt to found a plantation upon these northern shores, Lord Pop- 
ham, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and other members of the Ply- 
mouth company, or second Colony, despatched hither Capt. 
Henry Chalons, in Auirust, with a ship carrying 31 men, and two 
of Weymouth's captives, Manida and Assecomoit. Shortiv after- 
wards, Thomas Hanham, one of the patentees, and Martin Pring, 
before mentioned, were sent with auxiliaries and fresh supplies, 
to join Chalons in beginning a colony within the patent. But 
Chalons was taken, Nov. 1 0th, by a Spanish fleet, and carried to 
Spain, where his vessel was condemned ; and Haniiani did noth- 
ing more than to new-vamp and repeat the encouraging accounts 
of the country, and thereby enliven, or perhaps invigorate the 
spirit of adventure. f 

Next under tlie auspicious patronage of the London Company, spi-icmmt 
three ships, with an hundred colonists, including the members of vir^"'',', 
a Colonial Council, sailed December 20th, for the coasts of o'-*^^'"^'"'' 
South Virginia; and in April [1G07] a permanent settlement was 
originally effected, and at length established on James' river ; and 
there the earliest administration of government was now com- 
menced. 

A similar enterprizc, projected by the Plvmouth Company, Kmifram's 
was matured, about the same tune, lor seltlmg another colony m Vngima. 
North Virginia. In this branch of tlie Corporation, the loaders 
were Lord John Popham, Chief Justice of England, and Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges, already become a conspicuous mendier. 
An hundred emigrants, besides mariners, were engaged in the 
entcrprize ; and all necessary ordnance, utensils, and supplies 
were speedily procured. The outlines of a colonial government 
were drawn ; and the several members of the Council, and the 
oflicers, who were all colonists, were designated by name. It 
was intended to have taken into employment three ships,J and by 
no means to be outrivalled by tliose of the other company. But 



*See this Patent entire, 1 Hazard's Coll. p. 51 — 5S. 

t Prince's Annals, p. 13, 19. J\'otc 10. 

i Gorges savs, there were " three ships. "' Prince's Ann. 21. [11.] 



198 

A.D. 1607 



Popham 

and Gilbert, 
coiiimau- 
tiers. 
May 31st. 



Arrival, 
Aug:. 8th. 



August 11. 
Govern- 
ment or- 
ganized. 



Sagada- 
bork Colo- 
ny located 
and iortifi- 
ed. 



THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

through disappointment in procuring one, the expedition was 
retarded, and two only were equiped, and despatched on the 
interesting expedition. 

The command of them was given to two of the patentees, 
George Popham, his lordship's brother, and Raleigh Gilbert, a 
nephew of Sir Walter Raleigh. They left Plymouth on the 31st 
of May ; and according to their destination* steered directly 
for the North Virginia coast, where, after a favourable passage, 
they arrived August 8th, in safety. They first touched at Mon- 
hegan, and then proceeded " to the mouth of a fair navigable 
river," called by the Natives Sagadahock. 

Although, according to some accounts, they first went ashore 
upon Erascohegan,^ or the western Peninsula\ ^ yet it is believed 
they finally disembarked upon an Island 200 rods eastward, cal- 
led Stage Island ; — supposed by them to be better situated for all 
the conveniences of trade with the natives, and of navigation 
through the year. They probably landed on the north part of 
the Island, which is level and easy of access — the southerfy end- 
being high, bleak and rocky. 

They left the ships, August the 1 1 th ; and, assembling on- 
shore, returned public thanks to Almighty God, and listened to a 
sermon adapted to the occasion. Their patent was then read j 
and their ordinances, laws and instructions promulgated. The 
form of civil government, ahhough aristocratic and simple, was- 
evidently drafted for a great State. The Colony Council con- 
sisted of eight members, who were severally appointed to hold 
particular offices : George Popham, senior captain of the voyage^ 
being President ; Raleigh Gilbert, admiral ; Edward HarloWy 
master of the ordnance ; Robert Davis, sergeant-major and com- 
mander of the militia ; Ellis Best, marshal ; John Scammon,*' 
secretary of the colony j James Davis, commander of the fort, 
and Gome Careiv, searcher. 

These adventurous planters erected on the Island some slight 
habitations, or cottages ; sunk two or three wells ; and commenc- 
ed an intercourse with the Indians. But they were soon con- 
vinced, that the wells, owing to their contiguity to the sea, would 



*The original object was to begin near Monhegan, some where about 
the mouth of Sagadahock. Hub. JV. E. 36 — Indian, "Sagadahoke." -Smith^t 
Hid. 216. 
i Now Parker's Island, | " On a peninsula." 1 Holmei A, Ann, 160. 



Chap, i.] OF MAINE. 199 

never yield sweet water ; that the Island* containing only 8 or 10 A. i). 1C07. 
acres, was too small for the permanent foimdation of a colony ; 
and that it was situated too far from other lands to form a free 
intercourse with the country. Therefore they concluded to 
change their situation ; and passing across the river, to the west- 
ern hank, they selected a pleasant and convenient site on the 
southeast side of a creek, f near what is now called Atkin's bay ; 
which stretches west into the land liaH" a league, and forms a 
peninsula at the southerly corner of the {jresent Phipshurg. To 
this place they themselves removed, and during the autunni, located 
and established a settlement ; which was subsequently denominat- 
ed the Sagadahock Colony. A commodious house and barn, 
and a few slender cabins were built, and a fortification erected, 
which they named fort St. George, from the Christian name of 
the President ; but it was afterwards called Popliavi's fort. A 
block house likewise with a store-room was erected and rough- 
ly finished ; where the people kept their provisions and might in 
case of danger find protection. J 

All practicable preparations being made for winter ; the two D.r. 5. 
ships, December 5di, sailed for England, leaving only 45 colo- J''|[''e '^^^s^ 
nists, situated between an imbroken wilderness on the one hand, 
and a waste of waters on the otlier ; — in an untried climate, and 
in the vicinity of savages. This plantation was undertaken by 
its patrons with a determination worthy of great and enterprizing 
minds ; resolved upon the accomplishment of their purposes ; and 
sure of the greatest advantages to be derived from its establish- 
ment and prosperity .§ 

Through the friendly assistance of two natives, Shetwarrocs, '"^'^ ^*" 

'~' , ii\es. 

and Dehamida, sent hither in the ships by Gorges and Popham, 
the adventurers received from the natives a cordial welcome, and 
afterwards testimonies of particular respect and hospitality. 
Some of the Sagamores even offered to go witli the English to 
tlie Basliaba, tlieir Great Chief; whose residence they repre- 

* On Stag-c Island are tlie rcmanis of a fort ; brick chimneys and some 
wells of water; several cellars; — the bricks must have come from Eu- 
rope. — Sallivan p. 170. 

+ From tills creek to the mouth of (he Kennebec river is 10 miles. — Coll, 
Jil. His. Soe. -p. 254. 

\ Prince's .inn. p. 53— The fort is on tlie S. E. side of Cape Small Point 
reuinsula* '(■ HubLard's .\'. E. p. 37. 



200 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A D. 1607. sented to be about Pemaquid. They signified to the President, 
that he was a mighty prince, holding in obedience all the sachems 
from Penobscot to Piscataqua,* and that he expected all the stran- 
gers, coming into his dominions, to pay him their court, as a cus- 
tomary usage. Yielding at last to their importunities, the Pres- 
ident proceded along the coast eastward, several leagues, till 
obliged by adverse winds and inclement weather to return ; — 
equally to the disappointment of himself, of the great Chief and 
the Sagamores. 

Trade wiih When the Bashaba was informed of m hat had taken place : he 

the Natives. ^ . . ^ 

sent his own son to visit the president, and make an arrange- 
ment with the company, for opening a trade in furs and peltry. 
Such was the conduct of this frank and forbearing people ; though 
several of them, but a short time before, and in this vicinity, had 
been forcibly carried away to places unknown to their tribe. As 
an instance of manly generosity, an Indian named Amenquin, to 
reward the strangers for a straw hat and knife " given him," 
stripped himself of a beaver mantle worth 50 or 60 shillings ster- 
ling, and presented it to the President,f 

The winter months were fraught with various trials. The 
season was extremely severe in England as well as in this country j 
their habitations were poor ; and they before spring suffered 
much from the cold. For though they had left a country in a 
higher latitude than this, they were nevertheless strangers to an 
atmosphere equally keen, and to unrelenting snow and ice, 
through five months in succession. 
ih^^Wiaer ^^'^^ ^^^^y might have enjoyed security and peace in their forti-« 
fication, and lived comfortably upon the provisions brought from 
home, together with the fish and game taken by themselves or 
purchased of the Indians, had they met with no misfortunes, and 
been guided, at all times, by the maxims of prudence and econ- 
omy. But a traditional story is related and transmitted to us, as 
coming from the old Indians, — that at some time in the winter, 
" a quarrel fell out between the colonists and the natives," wherein 
one of the former was killed, and the rest all driven out of the 
fort, leaving their provisions, arms, and several " barrels of pow- 

* Belk. Biog. p. 351. 

•}• From this creek to the mouth of Kennebec river is 10 miles. — 1 ColU 

M. Ilii. Soc. 251. I Pvrchas Pit. p. 939. 



Chap, i.] of Maine. 201 

der." Tlie Indians opened die casks; and being unacquainted A. d. icoc. 
with die peculiar properties of their contents, carelessly scattered 
liie kernels, which, taking fire, blew to pieces the most of what 
was in the fort, and " destroyed several of the Indians" tliem- 
selves. Struck half dead by the report, and the disasters wit- 
nessed, they supposed the Great Spirit was angry with them for 
doing harm to the strangers ; and made immediate proposals for a 

restoration of mutual friendship. Another tale, which 

comes to us in the form of a memoir^, is also wordiy to be told : 
— Being collected at the fort to traffic, the Indians, it is said, 
were requested to draw a small mounted cannon by the drag- 
ropes. They laid hold, and when in an attitude most exposed, 
it was discharged, giving them all a frightful shock, and actually 
killing and wounding some of them. 

Whether these stories have any connection, or foundation in 
truth, we cannot at this distance of time ascertain with certainly : 
and we might especially wish the latter one for the credit of the 
colonists to be a fable ; yet both were believed to be true, by the 
ancient and well-informed inhabitants on Sagadahock river. It is, 
moreover, certain, that their store-house took fire in mid-winter, 
and was, with a great part of their provisions, reduced to ashes. 

As soon as the ships returned to England, Lord Popham per- 
suaded his associates of the Plymouth Council, to provide anoth- 
er immediate outfit and send them back without delay. But, 
while waiting for a wind, the mariners of one ship heard of his honi^iw 
Lordship's sudden death ; and the master of the other, before he (j'ilbj)."'^ ^' 
sailed, was informed that Sir John, the broUier of Raleigh Gil- 
bert, was likewise dead ; — and thus became the bearers of these 
melancholy tidings to the plantation. 

Besides these deaths, hapiiened that of George Popham, Prcs- „ 

' ' ' o 1 ' Return of 

idcnt of the colony, who had also lately deceased ; and who was •''« emi- 

. n • griiiilN and 

succeeded in that office by Gilbert, the official admiral. Being his end of ibe 

coloiiv. 

brother's heir, he believed the estate required his immediate at- 
tention ; and therefore he concluded to return home. The reso- 
lution at tiiis crisis, and the deaths of the two Pophams and Gil- 
bert, three principal patrons of the cnterprizc, together with some 
additional disappointments, proved fatal to the colony. The cli- 

* Supplevjcnl to King Philip's icars, A. D, 1675— p. "5. 
Vol. I. U 



202 THE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. IGOS. mate was cold ; the wilderness appeared to them impervious ; 
the land wholly unyielding to the toils and arts of cultivation ; 
and probably the Indians had become again unfriendly. Nay, 
one account represents, that in consequence of the resentments 
of the natives, occasioned by the gun-powder plot, or some ill 
treatment ; the emigrants were induced to re-embark, for the 
sake of their own safety, and durst not return. 

Having resolved to quit the country, whatever the cause might 
have been, they all entered, with their effects, on board the re- 
turning ships, that brought them, and cheerfully departed ; taking 
with them, as the only fruits of their winter's enterprize, several 
kinds of fur, a small vessel built by them, and some native pro- 
ducts of the place. — To Gorges and others, the promoters and 
patrons of this colony, the return of tlie planters was altogether 
unexpected and extremely unwelcome. 

In vindication of their conduct, they framed excuses with what 
ingenuity they possessed ; and though they had lost only one of 
their number b}^ natural death,* they told very unfavourable sto- 
ries of the country, its climate, soil, and healthfulness ; represent- 
ing it to be an intolerably cold and sterile region " not inhabitable 
(they said) by our English nation. "f 

This colony, the first ever attempted to be estabhshed by the 
English in North-Virginia, was planned and begun with the cour- 
age, zeal and beneficence which do not fear to encounter difficul- 
ties, or hazard expense. Its projectors and friends believed a 
colonial establishment, well organized and prosperous, would be 
the common resort and asylum of all adventurers to this country ; 
and the means of promoting and spreading other settlements to a 
wide extent. But its untimely end, some further deaths, and ad- 
ditional discouragements, gave a deadly check to the spirit of 
colonization fbr several years, f Yet Sir Francis Popham, son 
of the late " baronet," sent a ship annually into these waters, for 
several years ; in anticipation of benefits from the fishery and fur 
trade, and, possibly, from his father's advancements ; till over- 

* Prince''s Ann. p. 23.-^Tlioi)<jh " (licj- ascribed it to a prevailing- sick- 
nesK, occasioned by (.lie severity of the winter."' — 1 Coll. Jilass. Hist. Soc. 
p 252. I Prince's Ann p. 25. 

\ But " of plantations we {layc i)o more speeches.''''— Sinita s Jlist. pp. 
18, 1», 24. 



Chap. I.] OF MAINE. 203 

come by discouragements and losses, he was obliged at last to A. D. icoa, 
give up the pursuit. f Some adventurers may have met with 
better success; for it is confidently asserted, that the coasts were 
never afterwards, for any considerable length of time, entirely 
deserted by Europeans, until the country became settled. 



f Uubbarirs J^". E. M. — He says, 'the Frencli were here soon after 
ropliain's parly left tlic place' — Gorges'' Hist. 19. — 5 Purchas, lS2ti. — 
Prince's ^nn. £5. 



204 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 



Acadia. 



CHAPTER II. 

The stttlcment of Port-Royal ahnndoncd by the French — Resuvicd — 
Mount Desert visited by them — It is the abode of tuw Jesuits — 
Gorges sends Vi?ies to Saco — South- Virginia — Newfoundland — 
ArgaVs, Somers' and Harloiv's visits — Natives carried to Eng- 
land — The French settle Blount Desert — Argal removes them — 
He takes Port-Royal — Copt. John Smith — His character — His 
voyage to Sagadahock — His Map and History of Neic-England 
— Hawkins' voyage — War and pestilence among the eastcmi na- 
tives — Vines at Saco — Smith, Admiral of New-England — Ro- 
croft's and Dermer's voyages — Settlement of Ncic-Plymoutlt. 

A. D. 160G. The infant colony at Port-Royal, in the winter of 1605 — 6, 
after its affairs were committed, by de Monts to Dupont, was 
plentifully supplied with corn and venison by the Mickmak In- 
dians ; and carried on with them quite a profitable fur trade. To 
encourage them, de Monts and Poutrincourt returned, in July, 
(1606) with fresh supplies. The former then took Dupont with 
him and sailed again for France, committing to Poutrincourt the 
management of the colony, and the survey of the country. 

The latter proceeded as far as Cape Cod; where he had a 
skirmish with the savages, in which they killed two of his men 
and wounded others. From this circumstance he conceived a 
most unfavourable opinion of their dispositions ; and in retaliating 
their wrongs he committed wrong himself, by seizing five of them, 
who came to trade with him, and then cruelly putting them to 
death. Returning, he and his companions passed the ensuing 
time at Port-Royal, in a social and festive manner ; till intelli- 
gence was received, by an early arrival in the spring, (1607,) 
of a transaction which proved fatal to the colony. This was 
an official report, that the Hollanders, piloted by a treacherous 
Frenchman, had obtruded themselves into the Canada fur trade ; 
that the king had revoked the exclusive I'ight, a privilege pre- 
viously given* to de Monts, by which he was entitled for ten 
years, to that kind of traffic in Acadia and the Gulf of St. Law- 



* See A. D. 1603, ante. 



Chap, ii.] OF MAINE. 205 

rence ; and that even the vessel which brought the news, was A. D. 1C08. 
forbidden to purchase any furs or skins ; being allowed only a 
fisliery about Canscau — in the waters between the peninsula and 
Cape Breton. Poutrincourt was so much disheartened by these 
and some other discouragements, that he with his parly left Port- 
Royal, Aug. 11th, and returned to France. 

The king, to recompense de Monts, gave him, the next year, l'^- Moms 
a patent of the fur trade for twelve months in the St. Lawrence, province, 
without restriction ; merely upon his agreement to settle a colony 
in that region. He now quitted all connexion with Acadia, and, 
procuring three ships and several families, furnished them witli 
supplies and gave the whole in charge to Samuel Champlain, who 
had been his companion and agent in Acadia. In the execution 
of his trust, Champlain selected the site, early in July of this 
year, and laid the foundations of Quebec;* — and after this pe- 
riod we hear no more of de IVIonts. 

Poutrincourt, wishing to revive his plantation at Port-Royal, Poi-irin- 
procurcd tiic king's confirmation of the grant, upon condition of if^^i-Royal. 
liis endeavours to convert the natives to the Catholic faith. In 
view of both purposes, this adventurer, his son Biencourt and two 
Jesuits, Biard and Massi', with several families, intending to be- 
come settlers, embarked (or America. While on the passage, a 
severe controversy arose between him and the Ecclesiastics ; in 
which he boldly told them, — " it was his part to rule them on 
earth, and theirs only to guide him to heaven." 

He tarried a short time at Port-Royal ; and returning to 
France left his son in command. Disdaining to be under the 
control of these priests, who were merely invited by his father to 
reside in the plantation, Biencourt threatened them with corporeal 
punishment, in return for their spiritual anathemas. In such a 
state of society, the three could hardly continue together until 
the spring. At an early day, therefore, the Jesuits bade him fare- 
well and proceeded westward to Mount Dcsert.\ 



* (Quebec was the Indian name.— 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 163.— 1 Charlevoix 
jV. F. \2\.—5 Purchas, \6A0— I.— L'EscarboCs Account. 

i " JUoiits Desarr—so named by Champlain. — 1 Holmes'' A. Ann. 178, and 
JVb/f. — Here were taken various kinds of fish and g'ame ; and on the mar- 
gin of the sound grew abundance of cranberries — 500 bushels in a year. — 
[Mount Desert was incorporated into a town by that name Feb. 17. 1769, 
divided, and Eden incorporated, Feb. 23, 1106.] " Mount Desart."— 2 Belk' 
Biog 52. 



20 G THE HISTORY [ V OL. I. 

A. D. 1609. This was the highest, largest, and consequently the most noted, 
Biard and Island upon the coast. It was " so named by the French," per- 

Masse at r i , • 

Mount De- haps by Ghamplain, " on account of the thirteen high mountains," 
it exhibited ; which were the first lands seen from sea. It is sup- 
posed, the place of residence selected by the Missionaries was 
on the western side of the Pool — a part of the sound which 
stretches from the south easterly side to the heart of the Island. 
Here they constructed and fortified an habitation, planted a gar- 
den, and dwelt five years ; entering with great zeal, and untiring 
perseverance upon the work of converting the natives to Chris- 
tianity. 
ges senrrs""^' MeanwMe, Sir Ferdinand© Gorges, a man never overcome 
ard Vines'" '^y discouragements, was equally bold, and ardent in his pursuits, 
though of a different character. " As to the coldness of tlie 
„ cHmate, (says he) I have had too much experience in the world 
'• to be frighted with such a blast. Many great kingdoms, and 
" large territories, more northerly seated, and by many degrees 
" colder, are plentifully inhabited ; — divers of them being stored 
" with no better commodities than these parts afford — if like in- 
" dustry, art, and labour be used."* He was confident ; yet so 
strangely had the passion for adventures abated, that he could find 
nobody willing to engage with him either in making settlements, 
or discovery. He however purchased a ship with his own money, 
and procured a master and crew to make a voyage hither, pos- 
sibly to keep possession of the country against the French ; 
though avowedly for the purposes of fishing and traffic, — the 
only objects, supposed to be sufficient, at this time to induce them 
to cross the Atlantic. On board the ship, he sent Richard Twines, 
and some others of his servants, in whom he had the most con- 
fidence ; — and this was the course he pursued, several years. f 
Souih-vir- Nor was the South Virginian or first Colony flourishing ; the 
^""''" Indians were hostile, and the charter itself was full of defects. The 
king, therefore, on the 22d of May, 1609, granted a new one to 
the patentees, which enlarged their privileges, and vested in them 
the fee-simple of the country, 200 miles northward and southward 
from old Point Comfort. He also gave them, three years after- 
wards a third patent embracing all the lands between the 30di and 

* Gorges' Narrative, p. 23. f Gorges, p, 22— 27 —Prince's Ann, p. 25. 



Chap, n.] of mainf. 207 

41st degrees of Nortiiern latitude,* wiih a funlicr guaranty of a u. igio. 
very extensive civil powers. 

Newfoundland had made llic most prosjress of any place to- Newfound- 

T-»i • 111- • 111 r '*'"'^ madfi a 

wards beconnng a 1 lantalion,j the kmg acquainted wiihthat fact, fou.ny. 
incorporated 40 English gentlemen, into a body politic, April 27, 
KUO, denominated "the treasurer, and company of Adventurers, 
'• and Planters in the cities of London and Bristol, for the colony, 
*' or plantation of Newfoundland." Under their patronage about 
40 permanent planters emigrated in June, and conmienced a set- 
tlement at Conception bay. In the following year, the colony 
was increased to 60 persons ; and afterwards a court was estab- 
lished, and juries empannelcd.J 

Among the visitants to these Northern coasts, at this period, Ar£jal"s, 
one was Samuel Argal,^ sabsequently governour of South-Vir- and Har- 
ginia. Driven by a violent storm, he bore away for Sagadahock ; °"'*^'*"" 
and coming in sight of a small rocky island out of Penobscot 
bay, in latitude 43^ 44', he approached it as the winds abated, and 
on the 2Sth of July landed upon it. Here he found a great store 
" of seals, and therefore called it Seal Rock, a name it still retains. 
Another visiter was Sir George Somers, who landed at Sagada- 
hock in September, on his way to Bermuda. A diird was Capt. 
Edward Harlow. In his voyage, projected for the purpose of^.o. iGil. 
making more particular discoveries about Cape Cod, he fell 
in with IMonhcgan, which had now become a noted mart 
for trade with t!ic natives, as well as a land-mark for seamen. 
But the memorials, we have of his conduct, justly load him 
with censure ; for like many unprincipled men of this age, he 
was guilty of die sin of manstcaling without any pretence of provo- 
cation ; seizing three natives, Peckmo, Monopet, and Peckenime, 
who came civrlly on board to barter with him. But Peckmo, 
leaped overboard, and being a good swimmer, as most Indians 
are, escaped. || Aroused by him the bowmen of the tribe assailed 

*That is, from Florida to Manhattan. 1 Haz. Coll. 72—81. 

■)• Prince's Ann. p. 30. 32. 35. 4.'}. 

J Sec this Ciiarter entire, 1 Ilaz. Coll. 5S— 72. 

{ " .^rg-al discovered a more direct and shorter passage to Virginia, and 
"left the tract of ancient navijators, who first directed their course sonth- 
" ward to tiic tropic, sailed westward by means of the trade winds, and 
" then northward till they reached the English settlements." — 4 //ume'* 
Ilitl. 341. [1 rrince's Ann. p. 33. 



208 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1612. Harlow with great fuiy, for his audacity and crime, and ' sorely 
* wounded three of his men with arrows.' Nevertheless he car- 
ried away the two captives to Cape Cod, where he kidnapped 
three others, SacJcaweston, Coneconum and Epcnotv; and thence 
proceeded with them all to England. 

The 111- Epenow was shown in London as a siaiht : the others beins; 

cliaiiskid- . ! . , /-, TT 

napped. distributed to difterent places. Capt. Harley one of the unsuc- 
cessful planters at Sagadahock, knowing of Gorges' benevolence 
to these natives, and the interest he took in their welfare, brought 
Epenow to him ; and soon afterwards. Gorges recovered Assa- 
comoit,* one of the Indians who had been carried away seven 
years before, by Weymouth, from St. Georges' river. These In- 
dians at first could not in conversation understand each other. f 
But when better acquainted, Epenow amused his fellow with a 
very artful story. Having sagacity enough to learn in what high 
estimation the English always held the precious metals, he had 
the ingenuity to fabricate a tale, that a mine of gold had been 
found in his country, very great. Assacomoit related the same 
to Gorges, as Epenaw wished ; who was hoping, when the report 
should spread abroad, that he might be employed as a pilot in 
some ship bound to his native country. 

Since the Charter was obtained. Gorges had been viewing the 

Gorges. . . 

American coast between Piscataqua and Passamaquoddy with 
peculiar intensity and predilection ; and continually drawing from 
voyagers, from the natives, and in particular, from Richard 
Vines, a great variety of facts about its situation, its inhabitants, 
and its resources. So, without doubt, other Englishmen, as well 
as he, had before this, noticed with jealousy and displeasure the 
progressive French settlement at Port-Royal, and the residence 
of the Jesuits at Mount Desert. 
Rl-damc JMeanvvhile, an opportune transaction gave fresh vigour to the 

^'m'T^I^^ enterprizes of the French in this region. Madame de Guerche- 

ville'sChar- >- ° 

'«•■• ville, a Catholic lady of France, zealous for the conversion of the 

American natives, after procuring of de iMonts a surrender of his 
patent, had it all confirmed to her by a Charter from the King, 
excepting Port-Royal, previously granted to Poutrincourt. She 

* 1 Belknap's Biog-rnpli)-, p. 35G. 

f Indeed their native abodes were wide apart one at Cape Cod, and the 
oliicr at St. Georg-e'a River. 



Chap, ii.] of Maine. 209 

appointed one Suassaye, her a2;ent, who set up at Port le Hive, A. D. I6i3. 

in Acadia, where he arrived, ]May IGth, the arms of his mistress, 

in token of possession taken ; and at Port-Roval, he made a visit, Mn'i.Tmo 

(ioiirclie- 

wlicre he found only five persons, of whom two were Jesuit mis-viii.-s 

at fM 1 • 1 • • 1-1 111 A{;rnl,SH- 

sionaries. buassaye, producuis; Ins pious credentials, took both ii>s;iye. 
monks into the service of the mission, and sailed for Mount Desert, srssioiiof 
Here 25 colonists were landed on the soudi side of the river ; a *^'""'" 
small fort was built ; the ship's crew of 35 men helped fit up the 
habitations ; and here they set up a cross, celebrated mass, and 
called the place .S7. Saviour. Whether this was on the eastern 
end of the Island, as one account states, or in the southerly part, 
tis others report, where Biard and Massi- were residing, we have 
no means at this time to determine. 

But scarcely had these emigrants provided themselves with 
some few accommodations, when they had to encounter new, and 
unexpected troubles from the English. Capt. Argal, of Virginia, 
in a fishing trip to these waters, being cast ashore at Pentagoet, 
or Penobscot bay, was there fully informed by the natives what 
the French were doing at St. Saviour, sometimes called IMount 
Mansel.f 

This intelligence he immediately communicated to the Virginia The Frpncii 
magistrates, and they at once determined to expel these catholic Argal! ^ 
Frenchmen, as obtruders within the limits of tlie first Charter 
granted to the patentees of North and South Virginia. Eleven 
fishing vessels were speedily equipped, carrying GO soldiers and 
14 pieces of cannon ; — and of tltis little armament, Argal was 
appointed the commodore. His first approach completely sur- 
prized the French ; yet having a ship and a barque in the har- 
bour, and " a small entrenchment" on shore, they made a show 

* It seems that Biard and Jlassc arrived at Port-Royal on tlie 12th June, 
iGll, and were probably the missionaries found here in the spring: of 1G13. 
— 1 C/i(irlertyu\ p. 20'J. He supposes St. Saviour was at Pcntag'oet. 

f In lat. 4 1*20' according to their observations: — this Avould be on the 
nortlierly part of the Island. " .Mount J^TanscP^ was tlie first land discovered 
by the lleet of tlic P.Iassachusctts emigrants, A. D. 1630. Tf'inlhroi/''s Jour- 
nal, p. 17. — See Hub. In. Wars, p. 23o J. Palaircl, p. 16, says, in 1613 

(he French established " a fort at tlic mouth of the river rentajoct or Pe- 
nobscot, and Arffal drove them aw.iy I" — So also Ogilby, p. 137, says two 
Jesuits excommunicated Poutrincourt's son, gained a party in France, re- 
ceived arms, brass g-uns, &c. from Louis 13th, became masters of Port- 
lloyal, and began a fort at Pcutagoct. 



210 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1613. of resistance. This was all they were ahle to do, for the cannon 
were not in a situation to be used; and the men were mostly 
absent from the fort, engaged in their respective employments. 

Argal, in his attack upon the vessels, found the capture of them 
to be no difficult task, even with musketry. Gilbert du Thet, 
one of the Jesuits, was killed by a musket ball, while in the act 
of levelling a ship's gun against the assailants ; others were woun- 
ded ', and those on board, except 4 or 5, were taken prisoners, 
Argal then landed and summoned the fort. The commander 
requested time for a consultation ; but through fear of bis bein^ 
reinforced, his request was not granted. The garrison then aban- 
doning the fort, through a private passage, escaped to the woods. 
After breaking in pieces the cross which the Jesuits had erected, 
Argal reared another inscribed with the name of his king, and 
in this way, took formal possession of the place. 

The people came in the next day and surrendered themselves, 
their patent, and their stores. Argal treated them with kindness, 
and gave them their choice, either to return home in such French 
vessels, as might perchance resort to the coast, or to go with him 
to Virginia.* 

To complete the reduction of Acadia, the fleet sailed farther 
eastward, piloted, as some say, by the Jesuit, Father Biard, who 
was glad of an opportunity to avenge himself of Biencourt ; or, 
as others affirm, by an Indian, whom Argal had pressed into his 
service. At" St. Croio; Island, he "took one vessel," destroyed 
what remained of de Monts' settlement ;f and crossing the Bay 
of Fundy, came to anchor before Port-Royal. 

The French at the time, were mostly absent from the fort ; f 
Biencourt, being employed in exploring the country, and others 
differently engaged. Argal, therefore, lost no time ; and in two 
hours, after he had landed his men, he reduced the entire settle- 
ment to ashes. 

The two commanders afterwards had a meeting in a neighbour- 

* Argal took 15 of them and the Jesuits to Virginia. Pie seems to have 
made f.vo voyag-es this year. — 1 Holmes'' A. Ann. p. 179. Note 1. 

f 39 Universal Hist. p. 255. 

I It is Tcniarkablc tliat both places were so little on their guard ; — since 
the coast was haunted by pirates. The famous Peter Easton in 1612 com- 
manded 10 pirate ships ; and in June took 100 men from the fisiiing vessels 
^bout Newfoundland. — Prince's Ann. p. 35. 



Chap, ii.] of aiaine. 211 

ing meadow, and discussed the subjects of their rights, and a. n. icu. 
claims, when Biencourt made proposals to ncgociate ; but Argal 
in return, said, his only orders were to dispossess the French ; 
and if they should be found there again, they would be treated 
as enemies. In this mood they parted ; and Argal carried the 
French ship, pinnace, cattle and provisions to Jamestown. 

The two Crowns being at that time in a state of profound '^^), '"J ""^ 
peace, the reason assigned for this hostile expedition, was the en- ^"o'"i"c='is 
croachments of the French upon (he territories of the English, — 
their right to which they rested on three grounds — tiie discovery 
by Cabot ; — the formal possession taken of the country by (iii- 
bert ; — and the original North and South Virginia patents, from 
their sovereign j — to which might be added, a continued claim by 
repeated visits, and by attempts to settle the country.* 

The expedition, was, in the opinion of some writers, " contrary 
to the law of nations, because inconsistent with their peace ;"f 
yet the transaction does not appear cither to have been approved 
by England, or resented by France. — Four years after this, Ui- 
encourt was resident at Port-Royal ; " and it seems, that by 
" some connivance of the English ministry, a small plantation of 
" the French, was suftercd to continue at that place, after its re- 
*' duction by Artia!.''! 

Tiie celebrated John Smith 11 has so much comiexion with ^"P«- Joi>u 
this history, as to deserve some particular notice. He was a na- 
tive of England, bold and magnanimous in mind ; and in talents, 
integrity and perseverance, not a whit behind Sir Ferdinando Gor- 
ges himself. Though now only thirty five, or six years of age, 
he had been a great traveller ; was a most conspicuous adven- 
turer to South Virginia ; and in 1 G08, made president of the Col- 

* By the patent, autliority was given to make Ihe seizure, fide Char- 
tcr^ 1606. It is saiJ, Port-Royal settlement liaJ cost tlie French 100,000 
cio^rns.— 1 Charlero-x JV. F. 137. f Chalmers, p. S2. 

lPrince\t Ann. p. i)4. Note [l.*?.]— Pec SmUh's Hist. p. 1 15.— See a^Fo 
oilier aulhorilics as to the Expeditions of Atpfal. — 5 Purrhax, 1S28. Pr't. 
Dom, in JV'. America^ h. 14, p. 246. 2 Ddknap^s Bing. p. 51 — C4. 

II Soc, in Betk. Biag. ji. 240-320, the infcrcMing- Binaraphv of Capf. Sinilh. 

In A. D. IJOG, ^vUcn he was 17 years old, lie made the tour of Europe, 

killed tliree Turkibh champions in sinefle comhat ; and was honoured with 
a triumphal procession. He was a prisoner in Turkey. Flislifc was saved 
in Virginia by the celebrated Pocahontas, He died in London, A. D. 
1631, aged 52. 



212 THE HISTORY L v ul,. 1. 

A.D. 1G14. ony Council. So much had his virtues and a spirit of adven- 
ture, given his name celebrity among his countrymen, especially 
the merchants trading to America, that, on his leaving Virginia, 
they readily took him into service, for the treble purposes of dis- 
covery, traffic, and settlement, 
niarch 3ci. With an outfit of two vessels, a ship and barque, carrying 45 
ymiUvs men, he sailed from London, March 3d, 1614, having instructions 
^'"-a(i--'° ^° remain in the northern country, and found a colonial settle- 
iiock. ment, or at least keep possession.* He shaped his course for 

the river, or vicinity of Sagadahock ; and he himself says, " I 
was to have staid there with only sixteen men."f He arrived 
at Monhegan, the last of April ; and immediately entered upon 
the business of his voyage, at the mouth of the river Sagadahock ; 
and upon the neighbouring lands and waters. 

He built seven boats, in some of which himself and 8 men 
explored the coast east and west, to Penobscot and Cape Cod ; 
trading with the natives for beaver, and other furs, and making 
observations on the rivers, shores, harbours, promontories and 
islands. His men employed themselves in taking wliales found 
in these waters ; by pursuing which, however, they lost the best 
part of the fishing season ; nor were they when caught of the 
kind expected, "which yields fins and oil." Still more futile was 
the visionary story reported about a gold and copper mine ; it be- 
ing ascertained, on a little inquiry, to be the baseless fabric oi 
fiction. 

The fruits of this voyage were of great value and variety. 
Within 20 leagues of Monhegan, says Capt. Smith, we " got for 
trifles, 11,000 beaver, 100 martens, and as many otters :" — and 
we took and cured ' 40,000 dry fish ;' and ' 7,000 cod fish,' 
corned or in pickle. The net amount of gains, to those inter- 
ested, was about £1,500 sterling. Eastward, and about Penob- 
scot, he adds, " our commodities were not so much esteemed j" 
because 'the French traders bartered their articles on better 
terms.'! 

* The West-India Companj', under their charter from James I. gave 
positive orders to ships in their service, " to hinder any foreigner from set- 
tling there upon anj- pretence whatever." — J. Palairet, p. 14-16. 

t Smith's Hist. p. 221. 

X Smith's Hist. p. 213.— This year, 25,000 skins were brought from those 
northern parts into France. 



Chap, ii.] of ^L\lNE. 213 

In exploring the coast, and contiguous country, Capt. Sniitli a D. )G1 i. 
obtained considerable knowledge of the natives. He says lie 
saw upon the land between Penobscot and Cape Cod, " forty 
several habitations," or " Indian villages ;" and enumerates twelve 
different people by name, residing east of Piscataqua. Of those 
seen along the coast from Sagadahock, southerly, as far as Na- 
umkeag, [Salem,] he says — they " all, for any thing I could per- 
" ceive, differ little in language, fashion, or government ;" but 
others scattered upon the coast to Cape Cod, (he adds) " I found 
" to differ somewhat in language, custom, and condition." He 
had oidy one skirmish with ihcm, and in this some ol them were 
killed. 

Smith sailed for England, July 8, leaving his companion, Thorn- T. Hunt 

l(iiln;i|is 24 

as Hunt, master of the other vessel, who was bound wuh hissdva^es. 
freight to Spain.* Sniidi says, " Hunt purposely tarried behind, 
to prevent me from making a plantation, to monopolize the trade, 
and to steal savages." Indeed, Hunt's appetite was insatiate j for 
belore he left Patuxet [Plymouth] he seized 24, whom he car- 
ried to ^Malaga and sold for slaves, to the Spaniards, at £20 a 
man.f 

The more important discoveries, and observations made by !^>"iiir.^ 
Capt. bmith m his late voyage, he committed to paper ; and after- History o 
wards, at intervals of leisure, he formed a Map of the coast, and lamj/ 
compiled a short llistonj'l of the country ; to which Prince 
Charles prefixed the name iVr.w-ENnLANo. It was supposed to 
comprehend the region between Manhattan, [New-York] and 
J^ewfoundland. 

About the time when Capt. Smith was surveying and explor- 
ing this coast, a most destructive war broke out among the sav- 
age tribes, which raged two or three years. Smith does not 
mention it, nor yet Harlcy, v.ho was despatclied this sunmicr to 
Sagadahock by Gorges, with the artful Epcnow and other natives for 
the purpose of learning more about the gold mine, and of adding 
new laets to his stock oi knowledge. Epenow escaped by jump- 

* Some names of t!ie savages, Hunt took, were tiqiianto, or Tisquantum, 
Wanape, or Wanauct ; and Samosct. Tlie latter said, in 1021 alter his re- 
turn, he was a ^!aJaIno^c about Monhcjan — Prince, p. S'J. 

■\ Princcin hij Annals, says Isc took twenty seven, p. 40. 100. At Gi!)- 
rultar, the friars (ooli those that were unsold, to christianize them. 
1 Holmes^ Am. Ann. p. liii. 
t It -,va3 first publishci^. is 4to London IGIG. Ptinccx Ann. p. 139. 



214 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. iGU.ing overboard, not far from Martha's Vineyard ; and with him 
vanished his glittering visions of gold. 

Aupmu The Plymouth Company at this period were so remiss, that no 

Colony ill considerations seemed able to arouse them Irom their inactivity. 

orMiUi.e.' As a body they disregarded the encroachments of the French; 
neither were they excited by motives of gain or emulation, though 
they saw vessels in the employ of the London Company return 
home in the midst of winter from the coast of New England, with 
rich cargoes. Hence Gorges, and his friends, as individuals, unit- 
ing, equipped two ships, gave to Capt. Smith the command of 

March. " them and sent him in March 1615, with sixteen planters, to begin 
a colony at some place within the Patent. But he was captured 
by the French ; his companions accomplished nothing ; where- 
fore Sir Richard Hawkins, the President of the Plymouth Com- 
pany, in October, afterward undertook another voyage for their 
benefit. On his arrival, he discovered that the eastern natives 
were engaged in a bloody war ; therefore he passed along the 
coast as far as to Virginia ; and returned to England with a cargo 
of fish only. 

War, fam- The parties to this savage war, and its causes are not fully 

ine and pes- '■ <d ■> j 

liience kuown ; thoudi Mr. Hubbard says, that " on account of some 

among the . . . 

Eastern Na- treachery committed by the western tributaries of the Bashaba, a 
great Indian prince, towards the Tarratines ; there had,* arisen 
a deadly feud ; and the latter began the war." Ogilby, from Sam- 
son d'Abberville, and Capt. Smith, both suppose the great Saga- 
more liv^ed towards or near Penobscot ; and Gorges says, " his 
chief abode was not far from Pemaquid." His place of imme- 
diate residence was probably between that river and Penobscot 
bay. Yet, according to Purchas and Smith, his political domin- 
ions included, at least, all the Indians upon the Kennebec, the 
Androscoggin, and probably the Saco. Capt. Smith farther 
states, that though the tribes as far westward as Naumkeag [or 
Salem,] have their own sachems, or lords, " they hold the 
Bashaba to be chief, and the greatest among them." Nay, Gor- 
ges, Smith and Prince agree, that even the Massachusetts' In- 
dians and their friends, were sometimes the Bashaba's allies, 
though at other times, his enemies. It is also certain that the 
Tarratines dwelt upon the bay and waters of the Penobscot ; and 

* Hubbard's N. E. p. 30. 



Chap. II.] OF main n. 216 

tliat they, and those on the PassamaquocUly and the river St. A. D. liiiG- 
John, considered tiiemseh-es as brothers, or brunclies of tiie same 
poHtical family.* 

HostiHlies were probably commenced early in the spring, A. D. 
1G15 ;f and for two years, violence, revenge, and extermination, 
seem to give cliaracter to this war. In its progress, the Tarra- 
lines " presumed upon the hopes of being favoured by liie 
French," widi whom they are represented as being on terms of 
very intimate intercourse. 

At length, the arbiter of war decided in favour of the Turra- 
tines ; who, as we are told, were more "brave, wise, lofty-spirit- 
ed and industrious, than many others ;" and might possibly have 
been somewhat assisted by the French. J ]Most evidently, their 
successes were equal to their v.ishes ; for these Tarratine war- 
riors and their eastern allies cut their way to the residence of the 
Cashaba ; and when they had killed him and his adherents, they 
carried away his women, and all his valuable effects, in triumph ; 
laying waste his immediate territories. These were thought by 
some old writers, to have hecn the ruins of what the Europeans 
or natives have called the ancient Arambeck,^ or the remote parts 
of Koromhegua ; to which the victors as far at least, as to the 
western banks of Penobscot, or even to St. Georges, might per- 
haps now have succeeded . 

This war, not only in its course, but consequences, was, we 
are told, uncomn)only destructive. || The vanquished sufferers had 
been called from their hunting grounds, and prevented likewise 
from planting and fishing; their habitations were destroyed, and 
famine and distress soon filled the country with misery. Add to 
these, the calamities of a civil war ; for the subordinate sachems 
having no federal head or supcriour to control and unite tliem, 

* See, loraulliorities— 05-?%, p. 130, 150; Smith's Hist. p. 213, 213; 
Gorges'" jVnc. p. 12, 22, 53 — 54 ; Piince''s Ann. p. 112. — "To llm easternmost 
of Saorailaliock"— "tbis is the Basliaba's dominion.'' Purchas'' Pil. p. 9:J9. 

f I'rince's Ann. p. 43. lie says, Oct. 1G15, Hawkins found •' tlic war at 
•' the height, and the principal natives almost destroyed." 

\Prince's Ann. p. 112. Tlic Massachusetts Indians and (he " Sqnaw 
Sachems," feared the Tarratincs. ^ Ogilby, 139. 5 Parchas, 1632. 

II The enmity of the Tarratincs continued after the war. In A. D. 1G32, 
100 of tiicm in 30 canoes attacked tlic Sajjamores of Agrawam [Ips- 
wich]— and killed and twjk captive 10 or 12. liubbard't X. E. 145. 
H inlhrop's Jonrn. 23.-29. 



216 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1G17. after the death of the Bashaba many of the chief men fell into 
bloody feuds among themselves. 

To these distresses succeeded a pestilence, which spread far 
and wide, and was exceedingly fatal. It has been called the 
plague. It raged in the years 1617 and 1618;* and its wasting 
effects extended from the borders of the Tarratines, through the 
whole country, to the Narragansetts. The people died suddenly, 
and in great numbers, through the whole intermediate coast. It 
is said, some native tribes became extinct ; and their bones were 
seen years afterward by the English, bleeching above ground, at 
and around the places of their former habitations. f The specif- 
ic disease is not certainly known. Some have thought it was 
probably the Sinall pox : others have believed it must have beea 
the Yellow fever, from the circumstance, that the surviving In- 
dians represented the bodies of the sick, and dead, to have as- 
sumed an appearence resembling a yellow-coloured garment, 
^'d^ "r^r ^' happened that Richard Vines and his companions, whom 
winter at Gorgcs hired to remain during the winter in this country, passed 
that season, probably in the vicinity of Saco, when this wasting 
pestilence was at its height. Nevertheless, though ' the mortality*^ 
" was the greatest that ever happened within the memory of 
man," yet " Vines and the men with him, who lay in the cabins^ 
with these people, that died, some more, some less, not one of 
them, ever felt their heads to ache, so long as they staid there. "f; 
Aitrmpts to 'VVliile Providence by these destructive agencies of war, fam- 
Easipiu jj^Q ^^^ pestilence, seemed to be thus openins; this country to the 

Couiiliy by '^ i o j 

Smiiii and entrance of Christian settlers ; a spirit for colonizina; it was ex- 
Rocroft. . . . . . ... 

tensively reviving again in England. Capt. Smith indefatigably 

espoused the cause ; and in his solicitude to unite and animate 

the English nobility, gentry and merchants in the undertaking, 

* Though writers dilTer as to the time. Prince says [in Jan. 1616.] Ann^ 
p. 46. 4 Coll. JI. Hint. Sjc. lOS, JVc«/'s JV. E. p. 37. This pestilence was 
known in England before Nov. 3, 1620. See N. E. charter of that year. 
See 1 Holmes'' A. Ann. 217—8. JS''nie 4. 

jThis plaofiie slew most of the Mass. Tribe. 1 ColL JL Hist. Soc. 1-15 
8 //. 22G— 204. 

f Gorges'' Kar. p. 12. 22. 27. He says the country was sorely afflicted, 

by the plague so that " in a manner it was left void of inhabitants." — Huh- 

bard''s .TV. E. p. 195, represents the disease as very loathsome; many of 

the dead v/ere left nnburied " as appeared by the multitude of carcasaes 

found up and down the country." — 1 Belk. Blvg. 355. 



Chap, ii.] OF MAINE. 217 

lie travelled through the khigdom, for that purpose ; making the a. D. iGia. 
subject a favourite topic, and distributing copies of his history 
and map. Besides receiving promises and other encourage- 
ments, he was at last provided with three shij)s at Plymouth, and 
presented with 15 settlers ready to embark. He was prepared to 
sail early in the spring (1017), with full intent to begin a 
plantation upon this coast. But being windbound three months, 
he abandoned the voyage ; receiving nothing more for all his la- 
bours, losses and disappointments, than a commission from the 
Plymouth Company, as Admiral of New England.* 

Never were attempts to accomplish an attainable object more '*P"'' 
uniformly thwarted ; and at the same time with greater persever- 
ance renewed. It was represented that one Thomas Dernier, 
then in Newfoundland was an active friend to the cause of set- 
tlement and discovery : and therefore the Plymouth Company 
through the persuasions of Gorges sent out Edward Rocroft in 
a ship to North America to assist Dermer. Though missing him, 
Rocroft had the good fortune, in April, to seize a French barque, 
obtrusively fishing and trading upon the coast ; and finding her 
a valuable prize, he sent the master and crew in his own ship to 
England ; determined to retain possession of her himself, and with 
a part of his men to keep or guard the coast through the winter. 

But ascertaining that several of his men had conspired to as- 
sassinate him and run away with the prize, he set them ashore at 
Saco ;f and in December sailed for Virginia, where he was killed. 
The wretched men, he left, having some knowledge of Mon- 
hegan, as a noted station, succeeded in reaching that Island, 
where they passed a tedious winter. This, and the winter previ- 
ously spent by Vines and his companions at Saco, are the earliest, 
in which any Englishmen, except the Sagadahock colonists, are 
known to have remained during the winter season, in the territo- 
ries of this State. 

Dermer, being a man of great prudence, and industry, embark- ifiio. Feb. 
ed at Plymouth in February, to find and assist Rocroft; also to Vo}age. 
bring about if possible, a reconciliation of the savages towards 
the English. J For die treacherous management of Hunt and 



* 1 Belli. Bioff. 314. 

f " Sawguatock" — 15 Leag-ncs from Monhcgan. — Princes\1nr., 55. 
t" Ahont Kennsbeck.''— //mM. A'arra. p. 28e— 1). 
Vol, I. 15 



218 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1G19. others, had so highly exasperated the natives, that the business of 
trade and settlement was greatly interrupted. At Monhegan, he 
was informed by the Islanders, that Rocroft left the coast six 
months before for Virginia. He then took an exploring survey 
of the country, and found southvvestwardly, " some ancient plan- 
tations, not long since populous, now utterly void." Other places 
were not yet free from the sickness j where only a remnant of peo- 
ple with some stores had escaped. At Patuxet, [PlymouthjJ 
Squanto's native country, all were dead."* 

In performing the trust of reconciling the hostile Indians, 
Dermer had Squanto^s generous help, whom he had brought 
with him, from England, and whose heart he had won with kind- 
ness. He had also with him Samoset, a native of Sagadahock, 
whom Capt. John Mason, governour of Newfoundland, had 
lately sent home, and whose friendly feelings Dermer had secured. 
These were two of Hunt's captives, and had probably learned to 
speak the English tongue. Having succeeded in his mission, he 
put Squanto, (as he wished) ashore at Saco ; sent some dis- 
patches to England by a Capt. Ward ;f and June 23, left Mon- 
hegan for Virginia. 

Landing, on his way at Martha's Vineyard, he and his men were 
assailed by Epeaow and his countrymen, and in the affray, sever- 

Dcrmer's alofhis crcw Ware killed, and himself was so severely wounded, 
that he died in September, soon after his arrival in Virginia. 
The untimely death of this worthy man so exceedingly discour- 
aged Gorges, that he declared, it " made him almost resolve 
"never to intermeddle again in any of these undertakings."! 

The Ply- Unexpectedly at length, the first settlement in New-England 

nioiili. Til- ' II- r • ' 1 

grinis seiiie was established by a people and m a manner, very few it any had 
previously contemplated. The English Puritans who resided in 
Holland, liaving resolved upon a removal to America, procured 
of the Virginian Company, in Sept. 1619, a Patent; and im- 

* Prince's Ann. 63. Smith's flist. 127. 229. 

I It is said Dcnncr loaded n sliip of 200 tons v.'ith fish and furs at Monhe- 
gan and dispatched it for England; and each sailor had jjl6. 10s. for 
seven months— Hoi. A. Ann. p. 196. 

X Hubbard, says [Hist. JV. E. p. 40.) Dermer w.ns employed " to settle 
" the affairs of the plantation now a third time revived a^ain about Kenne- 
"bec in the year 1G19." — Sec ilubbard''s Js''arralivc of Indian Tf^ars,Tp, 289. 
£d. JForcesltr, IQ01.~ Smith"* Hist. 228-9' 



Chap, ii.] of MAINE. 219 

mediately made preparations for leaving Europe to locate them- a. D. icro 
selves on or near the river Hudson. Neither the dansrers of the 
ocean, nor a wilderness of savages, could extinguish tiitir he. \ un- 
born courage ; for God and truth, religion and lile.'y, inspir- 
ed their resolution and enterprise. Led on hy hopes from iibove, 
though filled with anxieties, they embarked at Plymouth, Sept. G, 
in the following year, 1G20. But they were treated with treachery. 
The Duteii, desirous of possessing the same country which these pi- 
ous pilgrims were seeking for their refuge, bribed their captain ; and 
he brought them in November, to the shores of Patuxet. They 
knew their patent would now avail them nothing, for they were 
entirely without the limits of the Virginian territory : therefore 
they formed a social compact and a temporary rrovernment, and 
resolutely entered upon a country as they viewed it, provided for 
their abode by the allotment of Providence. 



220 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol. 1. 



CHAPTER III. 



A. D, 1620 
SellleiTK^nls 
promoledi 



Patent to 
Piymouih 
Council. 



Granted. 



Neio-England patent granted — Its extent and government — Patent 
to Mason — Charter of N. Scotia to Alexander — Its cicil powers 
and meinagemcnt — Laconia, a province, a company — Monliegan 
and other places on the eastern coast settled — Intruders — Saco, 
Nav- Hampshire, arid Pemarjuid settled — Robert Gorges, and 
his council — Prce Jishery discussed — Agamenticus settled — 
The rights to Acadia, and of the Plymouth Council discussed 
— N. Scotia confirmed to Alexander — 31onhcgan sold — Trade to 
Kennebec — Massachusetts patent and charter — Canada taken by 
the Kirks — Peace — New-IIamjJ shire, Conimocks, Kennebec, Saco, 
Lygonia, Muscongus and P emaquid patents — Settlements at Sog- 
adahock and Piscataqua. 

An era now opens which was far more favourable to the set- 
tlement of North America, than that of any preceding period. 
The country was perpetually growing in importance ; and adven- 
turers, through the increase of their knowledge and experience, 
became more judicious and prudent in their enterprizes. In 
1620, after our Pilgrim Fathers had founded the colony of New 
Plymouth, seven English ships made voyages to New England 
for fish and fur, and eight others carried 1,095 settlers to the 
"Virginia plantation. 

Observing that colony to flourish under new patents* with more 
ample privileges, the Plymouth Company, or the other branch 
in the corporation of 1606, petitioned the crown, through Gor- 
ges for a new Patent, which might prescribe a definite extent of 
territory, with the necessary powers and privileges ; and give an 
exclusive right to the soil, fishery, and trade, within its limits. 
The king was easily moved by the entreaty ; and accordingly 
orderedf one to be drafted which should compare with that pre- 
viously "granted to the present company in Virginia." 

This charter was dated Nov. 3, 1620. Its corporate members 



* Its second Patent 23d May 1609— 3d Patent March 12th 1621.— 1 liaz. 
Coll. 58, 72, 81. 

f 1 Haz. Coll. 99 — where the order of council i? f ntirc. 



Chap, in.] OF MAINE. 221 

consisted of forty noblemen, knights and gentlemen,* who were a.d. ic20. 

rollectively denominated, " The Council established at Plymovth 

in the County of Devon, for planting, ruling and governing 

New-England in America J'^ The extensive country, now grant- land. 

ed in fee-simple, was situated between the 40th and 48th degrees 

of northern latitude, in breadth ; and in length by the same breadth 

" throughout tiie main land from sea to sea ;" — extcncHng in fact, 

from the bay of Chaleur, and the nortli line of Maine, southerly, 

to a parallel of latitude, more than a degree below Long Island, 

or the mouth of the river Hudson. 

After expressly recognizing tlie patent to Hanham, Gilbert and 
others in 1606, and the possessions acquired, and settlements 
undertaken, within its limits ; the new charter premises, that this 
country had lately experienced, under a visitation from God, an 
uncommon desolation, by " a destructive plague," and " horrible 
slaugliters and murders among the savages ;" and that none other 
than English subjects had any possessions within that territory. 



* Namely,— LoJowick, duke of Lenox, 

Lord Steward. 
Georg^e, Ld. ^Marquis Buckingham, 

JJisli Admiral. 
James, J^larquis Hamilton. 
William, Earl of Pembroke, Lord 

Chamberlain. 
Thomas, Earl of Arundel. 
William, Earl of Bath. 
Henry, Earl of Southampton. 
William, Earl of Salisbury. 
Robert, Earl of Warwick. 
John, Viscount Haddington. 
Edd, Lord Zouche, Lord JFarden 

of the Cinque porls. 
Edmund, Lord ShctTicld. 
Edward, Lord Gorges. 
Sir Edd. Seymour, Knighl Baronet. 

— Robert Mansell. 

— Edward Zouche, Knight JIar. 

shal. 

— Dudley Digg'P. 

— Thomas Rowe. 

— Ferdinando Gorges. 

— Francis Popham, [son of the late 

Chief Jus. of Eug.] 



Sir Jolin Brooks. 

— Tliomas Gates, [in the patent of 

1U06.] 

— Ricliard Hawkins, [Pret. of 

JV'. V. Col. 1615.] 

— Richard Edgecomb. 

— Allen Apsley. 

— Warwick Heale. 

— Rich'd F. Cotchmay. 

— Joljn Bourchier. 

— Nathaniel Rich. 

— I^dward Giles. 

— Giles Moinpcsson. 

— Thomas Wroth. Knights. 

Mathew ShurtclclTe, DeanofExcler. 
Henry Bonchier, Esqr. 

Robert Heathe, Recorder of Lon- 
don. 

John Drake. 

Raleigh Gilbert, [in the Patent of 
jfi06.] 

George Cliudlcj', 

Thomas Hammond. 

John Argal. Esquirei. 



222 "^'"E HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1G20. Nay ' many places for leagues,' it was stated, ' were without na- 
tive inhabitants to challenge any interest in the lands. 

Powers. The charter created a body politic, and corporate with per- 

petual succession, vested with powers to fill vacancies ; to elect a 
president and secretary ; to appoint all governors, and other offi- 
cers needful for managing the affiiirs of the Colony, whether in 
America or in England ; and to establish all such laws, and or- 
dinances as might be suitable for a regular administration of jus- 
tice. The Corporation or Council were democratical in their 
proceedings ; and all their governors, magistrates and other au- 
thorities in the colony, were directed to rule, punish and pardon, 
according to the orders and instructions given them under the 
corporate seal and signature of the President.* 

Privileges. Ji^ general, the privileges granted in the former charter were 
confirmed to the Plymouth Council now incorporated ; — such as 
the rights of citizenship ; the exclusive trade and fishery within 
their territorial limits ; importations from England seven years 
duty-free ; and the expulsion of all intruders. But no coining 
of money was allowed in the colony, nor any catholic permitted 
to settle there. f 

This Charter, which existed upwards of fourteen years, and 
longer than the former one, is the foundation of the numerous sub- 
sequent patents by which New England was first divided j and 
its settlements and colonies located and limited. 

F. Gorges. The more zealous and prominent men in the council were two, 
who might be justly placed at the head of the list. One was 
Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He had been president, under the former 
charter ; and the settlement of this country was still his favourite 
pursuit. Capt. John Mason, returning home about this time from 
Newfoundland, of which he had been governour, also exhibited 
great courage and confidence in the cause ; and when there was 
an occasion to fill an early vacancy in the Council, he was elected 
a member and became their secretary. J 

John Mason, ^he first territorial grant by the Plymouth Council was to him. 
This was dated March 2, 1G21 ; and it embraced the lands be- 

* Yet the Plymouth Council doubted its right to transfer the powers of 
government to any of its Patentees : though it certainly had the sole power 
of granting the lands from the 40th to the 48th degree. — Hubhards^ JV. E, 
627-620. \ Sec this Charter entire.— 1 Haz. Coll. 103-118. 

t 1 Belknap's N. H. p. 14- 



CriAP. III.] OF MAINE. 223 

tween jNTerriinack and Naumkcag, from their sources to the sea, a.d. 16J1. 
including all islands widiin three miles of the coast.* It was 
called "Mariana." 

But though the expectations and plans of Gorges were great, y.>p,„.i, 
he was nevertheless exercised with very discouraging apprehen- ^''*""- 
sions. He had ohtained due information that the French 
were settled at Quebec, at Port-Royal, at Blount Desert and 
at other places ; and intended to become the exclusive posses- 
sors of the country. He foresaw, that though the coast was 
thoroughly cleared of them by Argal, eight years before, as far as 
Port-Royal : the most efficient measures ought to be adopted 
without delay to thwart their designs and exclude them from 
New England. A didiculty however arose from a deficiency or 
defect in the new Charter itself. It extended indeed, two de- 
grees ftrther north than die former one ; yet he found after all it 
only embraced the bay of Chaleur, which was a degree at least 
below the southerly bank of the gulf of St. Lawrence. 

To remove this perplexity, Gorges, " being (as Prince says)f .Snpt. lo. 
entrusted with the affairs of this country," procured from the i\.,vi, scdia 
Council a conveyance unto Sir William Alexander, Secretary of !",j^,r. *"*' 
State from Scotland, and afterward earl Sterling and Vis- 
count of Canada ; J whereby a large northern section of their ter- 
ritory was assigned to him, which was forthwith confirmed and 
enlarged by a Patent, Sept. 10, IGil, from James I. the king of 
England. The western boundary line of the Province passed 
northwardly, from Passamaquoddy through "the river St. Croix, 
to the farthest source or spring which comes from the west ;" 
and thence north in a direct course over land to the first spring 
that runs into the great river of Canada ; thence northward unto the 
river and along the shores of it eastward to Gaspe ; and thence 
by the coast, exclusive of Newfoundland and Cape Breton, 
around Cape Sable and across the bay of Fundy to the place of 
be;:inning. To this territory, which embraced a great part of ,'lc- 
acha and also die islands and waters widiin six leagues of the 



*Sce this Patent in IlubbarcVs JV.E. p. 61-1—616. 

t Prince's Ann. p. 94. 111. 

I 2 Brit. Dominions in Am. p. 6. — lie was made Viscount, A. D. 1333. 
Sir William M*as master of requests for "icollanJ. I\Iasoii fust jnlruJiiceil 
Jiim to Gorges; and Gorges says, the Ivinjj; commanJud tis to assign Sir \\'il- 
liam a " part of our territories." — 1 Csll. Haz. 337. 



224 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1 

A. D. 1621. shores, was given the name Nova Scotia,* or New-Scot- 
land, — and it was granted to Sir WilHam and his heirs in fee 
simple without any condition ^vhatever. 

No provisions for any civil government appeared in the Patent ; 
and the country was erected into a royal palatinate, — to be holden 
as a fief of the Scottish crown ; the propi'ietary being invested with 
the regal rights and prerogatives, of a count-palatine. The tv^-o 
rights of soil and government being in this way originally separa- 
ted, were for a long period kept distinct, and sometimes in dif- 
ferent hands. These territories must have been considered the 
King's Scottish dominions ; and even then, it will perplex the 
wisest civilian to discover the justice or propriety of the tenure. 

Scotch Set- There was a general wish, and it was also Sir William's inten- 

tlemeiits at- . ■ i c ^ • tt i 

tempted, tions, to settle the country with scotch enngrants. Utterly op- 
posed as they were to French Catholicism, they would form a 
stable barrier to the encroachments of Frenchmen ; while their 
industrious and economical habits and religious principles would 
render them a fit people to settle a new country. Sir William, 
the next year, and from year to year, till the death of his king, 
sent a ship with men and necessaries to plant a colony within his 
Patent. One arriving late in the next season, was obliged to 
stay through the winter in Newfoundland. The mariners and 
planters, in another, coasted from that island along the shores of 
Nova Scotia ; selected an eligible place for a plantation on Port 
Joli river, eastward of Cape Sable ; and took possession. Yet, 
" by reason of some unexpected occurrences," they resoh^ed to 
make discoveries, not to plant, and took passage in July for 
England ; intending to resume the enterprize the next spring. 
Accordingly in 1624, and afterwards, Sir William transported 
hither some Scottish settlers ; and after ' subduing the French 
inhabitants, or removing them to Virginia,' he " planted a colony 
there himself, and held possession ten years," before " it returned 
to the French."! 

* This Patent was in Latin ; hence the name "Nova Scotia." — See trans- 
lation Ijy Falairet, l6—lS.—0!dmixion 22. 

tl Cnll. Jlass. His. Sec. od scries, p. 232.— After tins Sir William per- 
mitted liisson and Claiulcdc la Tour to biiild a fort at St. John's river, call- 
ed " La Tour and Akxandcr.^^ — See Commissioners^ Report. — See Chalmers 
p. 42, 91.— 5 Purchas, p. 1871— 3.— 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 219, who cited 
•'Laet. p. 62." 



Chap, in.] OF MAINE. 225 

Gorges and Mason, tlie projectors and prosecutors of still A. D. 1622. 
greater designs, were taking measures to carry a very extensive '"'""vinceof 
plan of enterprizcs into iinmediatc execution ; wherefore llicy fir.-t 
j)rocured of the Plymoutfi Council, August 10th. 1622, a patent 
of all the country between the Merrimack and Sagadahock ; ex- 
tending from the Atlantic unto the rivers Canada and Iroquois, 
and including the *' Savage nations towards the great lakes." It 
was called " Tke Province of Laconia,^^* — a region represented 
by travellers and novelists as abounding profusely in all the varie- 
ties of nature. 

If their descriptions were just, the seaboard was full of har- 
bours and fish, the lands were variegated with elevations vallies, 
rivers and streams, and clothed with forest trees of every spe- 
cies, where wild fruits, nuts, and gums, were spontaneous, and 
abundantly plentiful. In fresh waters were always seen shoals of 
delicious fish ; and over the declivities and through meadows might 
be killed multitudes of deer, beaver, and other game — truly one 
of the best regions in the world, for furs and settlements. 

Nor could any land offer to emigrants surer pledges of health 
and long life ; for the atmosphere was pure and salubrious, and 
the face of the ground was free of every thing that could hurt or 
annoy. In a word, it was exalted by some romantic accounts 
into a kind of terrestrial paradise. f 

To make lar";e srains of a country so extensive, and so tempt- '-■'f""i» 
ing to adventure and rural |nirsuits, Gorges and Mason, united Conned, 
with several merchants of London, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, 
Shrewsbury and Dorchester, in an association, self-termed "The 
Company of Laconia ;" being thus able to give a new impulse 
to the fur trade and fisheries ; — to discovery and settlement.J 
A great number of ships was sent, during the season, from the 
west of England, to take fish in these " northeastern waters," of 
which, as many as tliirti/ visited the Damariscove Island. <§ 
Emigrants arrived, intending to dwell in the country ; and estab- 
lishments were undertaken at Piscataqua,|| and other places, 
along these eastern shores. 

* Hubbard's y. E. 616— See a certified copy [Feb. 17, 17G3, from Lords 
Com. Plan, at Whiteliall,] in Sec. nflice^ Botlon. f t Belk. Biog^. 376—7. 
I Ilubbar.i's N. K. 215.-1 Bclk. N, II. 14. ( Prince's .\nn. 117—8. 

Ill Bclk. N H. 14. 

Vol. I. 16 



226 THE HISTOtlY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1622. MoNHEGAN WES permanently peopled about the year 1622J 
Settlers up- A part of Dermer's crew, as previously stated, passed the winter 

on Moiihe- ^ , , t, r , 

pan and the 1618 — 19 upon the Island ; and the next May, they were there, 
for he could obtain information from none other than ' hs resident 
inhabitants,' that Rocroft, the year before, had actually sailed for 
Virginia. The Island was a place of general resort ; and Prince 
says, that five of " Sir F. Gorges' men" had a skirmish with the 
natives near Cape Cod, in the autumn of 1620, in Avhich three 
were slain, and the other two " hardly escaped to Monkegan.^^* 
The same author makes express mention of the Island in the fol- 
lowing February, as " a Plantation of Sir F. Gorges ;" — and 
again two months afterwards, as " a settlement of some begin- 
nings." But still, how could any confident anticipations be enter- 
tained of its prosperity, if the first Islanders were only resident 
fishermen, blended with some such stragglers as Dermer's crew ? 
Perhaps, however, the Company of Laconia considered it appen- 
dant to their patent, and fishermens' dwellings were now fitted 
up under their auspices, for the purposes of a more extensive 
fishery. At any rate, these facts soem to be certain, that Mon- 
hegan was not without inhabitants a/ter 1 622, till the first Indian 
war, and that the young colony of New-Plymouth, in the spring of 
this and subsequent years, sent hither for provisions, which they 
readily obtained from the ships always found in these eastern 
waters. The opposite country, or main, afforded greater conven- 
iences for traffic ; and it seems, that slight habitations, such as 
cabins for fishermen and huts for temporary residence, were con- 
structed about this time upon the shores, between the rivers St. 
George and Saco.f 

Intmdefs. But it was a prevailing sin of early times, to treat the native 
inhabitants and the country, as if they were only fit to gratify 
the cupidity of the plunderer, or passion of the destroyer. The 

* Princess Ann. 99, lUO. — He says, "this year," 1623, there are " some 
scattering beginning's made at Monhiggou and some other places by sundry 
others."— 7fe. 127. 134. 

f Hubbard in his J^ar. p. 280, says, after the attempt to settle Sagada- 
liock, " other places adjoining were soon after seized and improvedy«r trad- 
ing and fishery." But in Lis IJist of JV'. E. p. 14, speaking of the coast 
eastward about Monliegan, Damariscove, Casco Bay, Cape Porpoise and 
Metinicus, he says, no Colony was ever settled in any of these places " till 
the year 1620." Que — was there any so early, except tljat of Ncw-Ply- 
inuiith? 



Chap, hi.] of MAINE. 227 

Plymouth Council, even complained to the king, of the repre-A.D. 11:22. 
hensiblc cncroacinnents and (abuses committed within their pa- 
tent. The woods were plundered of timber or set on fire, to the 
utter ruin of whole forests ; the best harbours were unneces- 
sarily encumbered with overthrown ballast and impediments ; the 
possessions of proprietors and the first emigrants were wantonly 
disturbed ; the profits of trade with the natives, and the rights of 
fishery upon the coast, were engrossed ; and the offenders, ap- 
parently " resolving to omit nothing that might be impious and 
intolerable," had bartered away to the savages, fire-arms and am- 
munition and taught thenii.the' use of the gun. — But as might be 
expected, some of them afterwards receiving retributive justice 
from heaven, were slain by the same savages they " had taught, 
and with the same weapons they had sold them." 

To rectify and prevent all improper practices, and favour the 
designs of the proprietors, the king by proclamation, Nov. 6, 
1G22, commanded his subjects, both adventurers and planters 
through New-England, never to disturb the trade with the na- 
tives — never to sell them fire-arms ; nor in any instance to inter- 
meddle with the woods, or freeholds of the planters, without 
license either'^from the Plymouth Council, or the crown. It also 
threatened the wrongdoers with confiscation and other penalties 
expressed in the patent, provided they did not desist ;* — as if 
such a mandate could eftectually be a preventive of evils, in a 
country where eyewitnesses must be few and interested, and tri- 
bunals were unknown. Yet it might have some effect, to allay 
fears and invigorate enterprize. 

As early as 1G23, a permanent settlement was commenced at AiD. 1G23. 
Saco. Gorges, 14 years before, and subsequently, had sent hith- Saco sei- 
or Richard Vines and others, to collect facts and select some el- 
egible situation for planting a colony. The first winter they pass- 
ed in the country was, in all probability, A. D. 1617 — 18, and at 
the mouth of the Saco. For in a subsequent grant of territory 
here. Vines, John Oldham, and their associates, were represented 
to have undertaken " the advancement of the general plantation 
" of the country, and the strength and safety thereof against the 
" natives or any other invaders ;" and some of them, certainly 
Vines, if not Oldham, in fact "lived" here in 1G23, where they 

♦ 1 Ilaz. Coll. p. lol, 152. 



228 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1623 and their companions long continued their residence.* Gorges 
being the patron of Vines, must also have been the tutelar pro- 
tector and guide of this colonial enterprize. The place chosen 
was at Winter-harbour, near the seashore, an inviting situation ; 
and six years after this, a patent was granted to the settlers, and 
a form of government established. f 
N. Hamp- ^'^ the Spring of the same year, the Company of Laconia sent 
shire. Q^gj. j)ayj(j Thompson, two Hiltons, and other planters, to estab- 

lish a colony and fishery, on the south side of Piscataqua river, at 
its mouth. Here they erected salt-works and built a house which 
they caUed " Mason's Hall ;" — being the foundation of New- 
Hampshire. | 

We call those settlements permanent, which are continued 
h ^If^'^'i «? fi'O^i^ ysar to year, without interruption ; and although we find 
George. not in the annals of the times, precisely in what year or by what 
persons, habitations for families, or homesteads, were first formed 
upon Arrowsick Island, and upon the main land at Sagadahock, at 
Sheepscot, at Damariscotta, at Pemaquid and St. George's river ; 
yet we .are under the necessity of concluding, it must have been 
as early as the present year. The harbours, head-lands and rivers 
had rendered this section uncommonly attractive to Europeans; 
the remains of chimnies and vestiges of dwelling-places, are strong- 
ly marked with antiquity, § and it is said, there were only seven 
years after this, " eighty-four families besides fishermen," dwel- 
ling upon the shores of this region. 
. Q^ ^ ] But no country can be prosperous and happy, without civil 
Govern- rulcrs or somc administration of government. The Plymouth 
Council, convinced of this as a political maxim, sent over a del- 
egation of three gentlemen, Rohert Gorges, Francis West, and 

* Sullivan, p. 219.— T/ie Patent says, A, Z>. 1629, " John Oldham of New- 
"Eng-laud, gentleman planter, and his servants, have for six years past, Viv- 
" ed ia New-Eng-land ; and he hath at his own expense transported divers 
" persons, there" — viz. Saco, A. D. 1G29. 

•t 1 Belk. J\''. JI. Jipp. p. 291.— lie " mcmorpndum" of a deed 17 May- 
1629, calls " Richard Vines, Governor, and Ricliard 'Bonig-hton, assistant 
of the Plantation of Saco." But the genuineness of this deed is doubted. 

I 1 Belk. N. II. 15.— Brince's Ann. 134. 

5 The Duke de Rochrfoucaull Llancourf, in 2d vol. Travels, p. 24 1 — 5, says, 
" some attempts to settle a colony in the vicinity of New-Castle were made 
by the Dutch in 1625, and even at the early period of 1607, but without 
effect." Also Hubbard's J\''ar. 250. 



ment 



nor 



Chap, hi.] OF MATNn. 229 

IViUiam Merrill, with authority, in diflerent capacities, to super- A. D. iG23t 
intend and inana,c;e all the public aflliirs of New-En-^land.* 

Gorces, son of Sir Ferdinando, an active, enterprising: senius, n.Oo 
and a brilliant officer in the late Venetian war, was commissioned o'"i..-rar, 
Lieut-General, and Governor-in-cliief of the country. His coun- Cu.incii. 
cil was to be formed and consist of Francis West, Christopher 
Lca\ itt, the Governor of New-Plymouth, and such others as he 
niiu;ht select ; and when in session, they were invested with full 
j)Ower " to do what they should think just and fit in all cases 
capital, criminal, civil and military. "f He arrived at New-Plym- 
outii in September, and brouu;lit with him several fiimilies and 
passengers, and also a patentj from the Plymouth Council, dated 
the loth of the preceding December, intending to settle a Colony 
southerly of Cajie Ann, while he was discharging the duties of 
Governor through JVew-England. 

West, commissioned Admiral of New-England, arrived a few 
months before the Governor, with special instructions to restrain 
all unlicensed slii|)s from fishing and trade within the Plymouth 
patent, or otherwise to exact of all interlopers, payment of the 
penal sums prescribed, lie proceeded to execute his orders, 
till finding the fishermen too sturdy and stubborn for him to control, 
he was obliged to desist. 

To superintend the churches, when established in New-Eng- 
land, Mr. Merrill, an Episcopal minister, had received a commis- 
sion from the Ecclesiastical Courts in England ; but he met with 
no welcome and returned home in disgust. § 

When West arrived in England, the mariners complained to j.^pc pjsi,. 
Parliament of his attempts to restrain them in their rightful em- ^vMimT""^'' 
ployments, and requested an order to make the fishery entirely ^^ 
iree. The Commons were at that time extremely jealous of the 
royal prerogative ; and so much were they oj)posed to these 
corporations created by the King with exclusive privileges, that 
they were ready to view the charter to the Plymouth Council as 
a public grievance. Hence they immediately called Sir Ferdi- 
nando to the bar of the House, and charged it upon him and his 

* Sullivan 167 — 391. S. Davit* account, on the C. Files, 

t Prince, p. 111—2. 

I 1 Ilaz. Coll. 151— 5.— Prince's Ann. 141—2,-1 Bclk. Bioj 367— 0. 

{ 1 Belle, Bioff. p. 366— 7.— 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 125—139. 






230 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. I). 1624. associates, that they of the corporation under color of planting a 
colony were pursuing their own private gains, regardless of the 
public interest, and the good of the community ; and, though he, 
as a gentleman of worth and honor, had their respect, all personal 
considerations must yield to the common weal ; and he must 
without delay deliver the patent to the House. 

fente^*' '^^' Gorges' defence was able, though the Commons thought it not 
satisfactory. He said " he had no power to deliver the patent 
without the consent of the Council ; nor was it in fact in his cus- 
tody. Never had they transcended their rights ; and he knew 
not how their enterprizes could be considered a public grievance, 
since they were undertaken for the increase of trade, the advance- 
ment of rehgion, and the enlargement of national empire. No 
monopoly had been exercised or enjoyed for the purposes of pri- 
vate gain 5 for (said he,) the losses of the adventurers have been 
so heavy, that they themselves had grown weary, and others were 
fearful to engage. At no time, had the fishery been, by design, 
or in fact, converted to private uses, as the offers made to all the 
maritime cities in the western part of the kingdom, would abund- 
antly evince. Nay, the exclusive privileges in the charter itself, 
were nothing more than the necessary favors granted to the com- 
pany, for the management of their prudential concerns — privileges 
possessed by lords of manors without a jealous thought.* 

ihep'coun-^ However, when the grievances of the nation were presented 

cii checked, to the king by the parliament, the patent was the first on the 
list. Apprehending this, and knowing the facts, king James, out 
of respect to his prerogative and to Gorges, would not recal it.f 
Still the discussion and issue gave a great, though temporary 
check, to the measures adopted for colonizing the country : and 
the Plymouth Council in deference to the voice of the nation, J 
suspended their plans and expeditions, and concluded to call 
home Gorges, the governor, in about a year subsequent to his 
arrival. After looking therefore to his father's afiairs eastward, 

* 1 Belli. Biog-. 369. 

I In 1621, James is reported to have said, " America is not annexed to 
the realm, nor vvitliin the jurisdiction of Parliament," 'and they have no 
rig-ht to interfere.' — 1 Holmes^ A. Ann. 237. 

\ After this, the Plymouth Council granted only two or three patents, 
till A. D. 1629. 



Chap, hi.] OF ftlAiNE. 231 

lie returned ; and this, the first essay made to establish a general a. d. iCi24. 
government in Ne\v-Ene;land, was wholly luisuccesslul. 

Gorges, mcctins; with these crosses in the eeneral system ol ,. „ 
American afiairs, determined to plant a small colonv at his own '""' ".' ^s- 

^ •' iiirii'iUiruii. 

expense. He had been informed of a short salt-water river, ad-lVork j 
milling vessels to a safe harbour and good anchorage at and above 
its mouth, called J]i;amenticus ;* its situation being nearly equidis- 
tant from a mounlain of that name and the river Piscataqua. — 
Pleased with the description of the place, he procured from the 
Plymouth Council, a patent of 24,000 acres, — namely, 12,000 
on each side of Agamenticus [York] river, and made provision 
for settling it. He entrusted the immediate management of its 
affairs to Ferdinando Gorges, his grandson, a young gentleman of 
rank and ambition, and to Francis Norton, who having risen, by 
his own merits, from a common soldier to a Lieut. Colonel, was 
desirous to perpetuate his fortune. 

In this company of emigrants were several artificers, who were 
to be employed in building vessels and saw-mills. The others 
were laborers, furnished with oxen and means, partly for clearing 
and cultivating the ground, though principally for getting lumber 
of different kinds. A settlement was commenced on the eastern 
side of the river near the sea, and afterwards no oilier plantation 
of Gorges had so constantly and so fully his patronage and favor. f 

About this time, a demise of the crown happened, which was 
followed by an event alike unpropitious to the Plymouth Council, ^ siipuin- 
to Sir William Alexander, to Gorges, and to this country. This J,-"," Amdia 
was the intermarriage of Charles, the new King, with Henrietta'" l'"""'^"' 
Maria, a French Princess and a Catholic. By the marriage 
treaty, negociated some months prior to her arrival, in jMay, 1C25, 
it was stipulated to cede or resign generally the jurisdiction of 
Acadia to France. f This, in view of all Englishmen interested, 
cast a deep shade upon their American affairs ; and brought their 
rights into an unhappy collision with the engagements of the 

* Called also " Accomenticus" — Gorget^ Hist. 

■f The precise time iwlicu Agamcnlicus [York] was first settled is not 
quite certain. Gorges Hist. IG, 27, says, it was about the time N. Ply- 
mouth was settled. — 1 Btlk. Biog. 377-8 gives this settlement a place, in 
order of time, before, though the same year (1G2'3) with (hat of riscatacjua. 
Capt. Champernoon and the cousin of Sir F. Gorges had charge of the plan- 
tations about Agamenticus. — nubiarcl's .V. E. 22-1. 

I J. Palairet.p, 18, 19. 



232 



A. D. 162 



Gorges' dc 
fence. 



.July. 
tiir'W. Al 
exander's 
Charter. 



Feb. 1626. 



Monhegan 
sold to Ei- 
hridj^e and 
Aldsworlli. 



THE FlISTORY [VoL. I. 

5 crown. The King and Council saw it ; and when the French 
ambassador came to urge his master's claim to the territory, they 
summoned Gorges before them to defend, explain or surrender, 
according to what might appear best adapted to circumstances. 

Gorges appeared and defended the rights of the Plymouth 
company with so much ability and force, as to affect a postpone- 
ment of the concession.* It was perceived however, that the 
French were in a fair way to acquire a considerable part of the 
long coveted country, in spite of all opposition. Sir William 
Alexander well knowing their wishes and his own liabilities to 
loss, procured of king Charles, July 12th, a confirmation of 
his grant, described and sanctioned with much particularity :f — 
and this, followed by a war with France two years afterwards, 
kept Nova Scotia, or Acadia, from the French, till the treaty of 
St. Germains.J 

But no sooner was the French claim put to rest, than the Com- 
mons renewed their calls upon the Plymouth Council, to grant a 
free fishery within their patent, and upon refusal, moved the king 
to vacate the charter. — Thus assailed from different quarters, 
their rights were only preserved by Charles ; he like his father, 
refused to yield a little of his prerogatiye, even at the solicita- 
tions of Parliament. 

These measures and the controversies between king and people j 
the apprehensions of a war with France, and other anticipated 
difficulties, so alarmed the Enghsh merchants, that those of Ply- 
mouth, who were proprietors of the plantation at Monhegan, 
made sale of it to Giles Elbridge and Robert Aldsworth, for £50 
sterling. They also sold to the Plymouth colonists and Piscata- 
qua setders whatever else they owned, consisting of goats, Bis- 
cay blankets, and sundry mercantile commodities to the amount 
of £900 ; and withdrew from the concern. § It is said, that 
under the late purchasers, the Island was occupied and improved 
by resident families to the first Indian war.|| 



• 1 Bclk. Biog-. 375. 

I See this patent in Latin. 1 Haz. Coll. 206—224. 

I Namely A. D.1632, thoug-h there was peace in 1629. 
5 Tiic articles had belonged to the cargo of a French ship cast away at Sag- 
adahock ; and were obtained by the Monheg-an Islanders. Prince's Ann. 
153. 161. — Abraham Jennings sold the Island and delivorcd the patent 
to Abraham Shurte, agent to the purchasers, Shurte lived at Pemaquid. 
ISee his Dcpo. Cum. Rep. Aidsworth was aa "Alderman." || Sullivan. 



Chap, hi.] of Maine. 233 

These overtures probably increased the population upon tlie a. u. jcW- 
shores, and promoted trade u itii the natives. The iVew-Plymouth ro'oniMs of 
colonists, by a little barter, froni year to year at ^lonhegan and ,\'„'i,'i',i,M'rad» 
Damariscove for provisions, had now become acquainted wjtli the 1° l^*^"."*; 
certain gains arising from the fishery and fur-trade in this quar^ t'co'^sc"'' 
ter ; and began to make trips hither solely for these purposes, 
After harvest the last year, they sent a shallop loaded with corn 
"up Kennebeck river," in exchange for which, they received 
" 700 lbs. of beaver besides other furs."* The present year, 
they erected a trading house at Penobscot, and commenced a 
traffic with the Tarratine Indians ; being the first English estab« 
lishment of the kind in these waters, f 

To secure unto themselves the exclusive trade of the Kcnne- 16-1'- Their 
beck, Mr. Allerton, their agent, applied to the Plymouth Council, Ucckfatem, 
in 1 G27, for a patent, which was readily granted ; but its limits and 
the privileges it contained, were altogether too indefinite, to ren- 
der it of any advantage, till it was renewed and enlarged. J 

Our country, at this time, appeared in the eyes of Europeans 
to considerable advantage. The settlers and natives were living 
in good neighbourhood ; and no doubts were now entertained but 
that the waters, wilderness, and soil, would afford to an industrious 
people an abundant livelihood, The troubles were in England, 
springing principally from the state of parties ; and this country 
began to be considered an inviting asylum for the oppressed, 
especially for ministers who had been silenced, and other scrupu- 
lous dissenters ; many finding a removal necessary for the preser- 
vation of their lives, To provide, therefore, for the retreat and .. 
comfort of the persecuted, a patent was obtained of the Plymouth »eiis Paient 
Council, March 19, 1C27, by Roswell and Jive others, embracing ipr. 
the country between the lines, a league southerly of the river 
Charles and northerly of the Merrimack j which appeared to bo 
most eligibly situated for the benevolent purpose. U-.der this 
patent, Roswell and his fellows associated to themselves Sir 
Richard Saltonstall and 19 others; — all of whom, being 26 in 
number, became equal co-proprietors dierein, There were now 

* Prince's Ann p. 156—7. f Mass. Letter Book, p. 107, 

\ Princess Ann. Y>. 169 — New-Plymoutlj established a trading house on 
the Kennebeck river in 1628, perhaps near the mouth, possibly abovo 
Mcrrymeeting bay. 

Vol. I, 17 



234 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A D. 1G27. within the limits of the patent only jive small settlements ;* and 
to superintend them and plant another at Naumkeag, (Salem,) 
John Endicott, one of the patentees, was sent over by the pro- 
prietors, well furnished with necessary supplies. To give full 
effect to the patent, a Royal Charter was obtained, March 4, 
A. D. 1G28. 1628,'|- by which it was erected into a Colony, under the name 
of Massachusetts Bay ; and an administration of civil gov- 
ernment was soon established. 
Firearms Iti the first Settlement of this country, the judicious manage- 
tlTNa"i'ves nient of the natives was an art of great importance. The 
French, by a condescension and familiarity peculiar to their char- 
acter, seem to have attained it early, and in an eminent degree. 
Firearms and gunpowder made the savage, their better ally. 
With Englishmen, especially the settlers, it was otherwise. From 
the first, they carefully withheld the gun and pistol from the In- 
dians. To meet them armed, always excited alarm ; and six 
years since, a royal proclamation forbade the sale of all such ar- 
ticles to the natives. Yet this, as well as all principles of pub- 
lic policy, one Morton had the hardihood wholly to disregard ; 
and for the sake of a lucrative trade, such as he understood the 
French and fishermen had improved at the eastward ; he sold 
the Indians arms and taught them their use. But his conduct 
aroused all the settlements upon the coast ; and he was arrested 
and sent to England. 
Canada It would liave been the height of good policy for the planta- 

theKirki. tions, never to have been partakers with the parent State in 
any of her wars. But unfortunately from first to last, the reverse 
has been too true ; and a waste of blood and treasure, and 
almost every shape of misery, have followed in train. In the sec- 
ond year of the war between England and France, (1628) Sir 
David Kirk, and his kinsmen, Louis and Thomas, were commis- 



* These were 1. Wessagusset, [Weymouth] bejun in A. D. 1622. 

2. Cape Ann, [Gloucester] " " 1624. 

3. Nantaskct, [Hull] " « 1624. 

4. Mount Wallaston, [Quincy] " " 1625. 

5. Winisiinet, [Chelsea] " «' 1626. 

6. Naumkeag', [now Saiern] " " 1C27. 
Sae authorities— Prince's Ann. -p. 113, 147, 151-7, 176. — 1 Hu[chlnscn''t 
tlist. p. 14, 15, 16. 

t As the year at this period ended March 24th ; ought not the above era 
to be " 1629?" 



Cha!-. hi.] of MALNt:. 235 

sioned to seize upon the infant colonics in Canada, planted at A. D. icts. 
Quebec, at Trois Hevieres and Tadousac. Quebec, where Sam- 
uel Champlain the Governour of New-France resided, was flour- 
ishing and had a stone fortress ; and when the assailanis sum- 
moned a surrender, he defied tlicm, even after they had taken a 
provision ship, on its arrival ficm France. The siege and the 
war were both rather ungracious ; for the Kirks were despised 
protestants, and the Quebec colonists likewise were, in general, 
fugitives from catholic persecution. Nevertheless, the attack 
was renewed the following summer and articles of capitulation 
were signed, July 19, 1 G29 ; by which tiic garrison were, at their Ju'.v, 16-9. 
election, permitted to dwell with the captors or be transported to 
France. 

At the time of this achievement, which acquired to the brave peace. 
Kirks so much credit, they had no knowledge of the treaty of 
peace between England and France, ratified the preceding April. 
It being therefore a conquest after hostilities had ceased, they in 
fact derived no emolument from the acquisition ; having a mere 
nominal possession of it three years only, before the whole coun- 
try, by the treaty of St. Germains, was transferred to the 
French,* 

In England, after the return of peace, such was the rage of 
party, such the abuses of power, and such the popular discon- 
tents, that great numbers were induced to remove into this coun- 
try. Here was civil and rclis^ious libcrtv, — here the novelties of,. , , 
rural happiness. New-Plymouth was a flourishing colony. She 'I'rnde. 
had lately opened a trade in a new article, called Wampum; 
which her people were pursuing with great profits. It consisted 
of ivhitc and blue beaJs, long and as large as a wheat-corn, blunt 
at the ends, perforated and strung ; possessing a clearness and 
beauty which rendered them desirable ornaments. They were 
only known to the Narragansetts, tlie Pequots, and the natives on 

* Tlic true name of (licsc men is said to be " Kcrlk." — 1 Charlevoix 
»A'. /''. p. 165. Tiie Kirks fitted out an armament at tliei.'- own expense, 
"took 18 Frencli vessels and 135 pieces of ordnance," intended for Mount 
Desert and Quebec ; ♦' and Alexander Kirk was made governor of (he 
whole." — Sulliiaiup. 2'o. Asa reward, the kinj of Eng-!and only gave 
them " a patent of the lands noi th of the river St. Lawrence." — 1 JJoug- 
la* Summ. p. 306.— 39 Univ. Hist. p. 423. See the Articles of Capitula- 
tion.— 1 Haz. Coll. p. 205-7, in French.— I Bel!:. Bing. p. 343. 



236 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1629 Long Island ; from whom they were obtained at a low price for 
corn, or small articles of foreign fabric, and transported into 
this eastern country and bartered for furs* At their trading house 
on the Penobscot) and another erected a year before, above or be- 
low Merrymeeting-bay, on the Kennebeck, probably near Pop- 
ham's old fort, they kept through the year, besides wampum, the 
most Suitable articles fbr the Indian trade, as coats, shoes, blank- 
ets, biscuit, fruits and trinkets. Nay, within two years after 
wampum was first brought into this region, it was found to com- 
mand a more ready market among the tribes, than any other 
commodity.* 

In the present revival of colonial affairs, the Plymouth Council, 
obsequious to the wishes of adventurers, proceeded to grant the 
extensive territory between the Merrimack and Penobscot, in por- 
tions to suit applicants or purchasers. 
Nov. t. John Mason, having agreed with Gorges to make the Plscataqua 

N. Hamp- the divisional line between them, took subsequently from that 
' "^*' Council) Nov. 7th, 1629, a patent of what lies between that riv- 

er and the Merrimack, being part of Laconia, and called it 
New'Hampshire.I 
Commock's Another grant of 1500 acres between the river Spurwink and 
Black Point, [in Scarboro,] was made about the same timej by 
the Council, to Thomas Commock ; upon which he, with Mr. 
Gains and others, in 1632 or 3, began a plantation. Under this 
title, the lands on the east side of the town have since been holden. 
The Earl of Warwick, President of that Council was the uncle,^ 
and probably the patron of Commock. 
January 13. The next grant was made January I3di, 1629, to Ncw-Plym- 
raienir*'^ outh, since called the Kennebeck or Plymouth Patent. j| It 



* Princess Ann, 172 — 3* — lie saj'S, " we buy about £50's worth of u'«m- 
pum ; at first it slicks 2 years," and " then we can scarce procure enough." 

t I liaz. Coll. 289— I Belk. N. H. 18, 

t Commock was one of the subscribing' witnesses to the livery of seizin, 
May 27th, 1633, of the Pcmaquid Patent.— i/a^. Col. 318 — Sullivan^ 127.— 
Hubbard's X. i:. 21«— 224. Commock di^pid A. D. 1&^J3. Joshua Scottow 
afterwards owned part of the patem ; and Henry Joscelyn married Com- - 
mock's widow, and lived upon it many years. The patent contained also 
Stratton^'s Island [Bluff Island ;] and Sullivan says it contained 5000 acres. 

^ Folsom, p. 29, says the patent was made in 1G31. Commock lived oa 
Prout's neck. 

II 1 Ilaz. Coll. p. 298^^303 — where the patent is entire. For a long time 
N. Plymouth proprietors claimed to the sea. But about A. D. 1768— '^ 



Chap, hi.] of iMalxe. 237 

was Intended as an express favor to her trade and fishery, and the a.d. ic29. 
propagation of rehgion. Its hmits, as ultimatply settled, were in 
the north line of Woolwich helow Swan Island on the eastern 
side of the Kcnnebeck, throuc:]i the south bend of the river Cob- 
besscecontce on the western side, and 15 miles in width on citlier 
side of the main river, — to an easterly and westerly line which 
crosses Wessarunset river [in Cornville] a leai^ue above its mouth, 
containing about 1,500,000 acres. Annexed to the charter were 
all the rights of exclusive trade ; an open passage at all times to 
the grantees between die patent and the sea ; an establishment 
of rules and ordinances, necessary for the management of their 
affairs and defence of their property ; and, in a word, all die pow- 
ers, (except admiralty jurisdiction,) which the charter council in 
session possessed. 

In prosecuting the trade of the river, it is understood, diat the 
stations selected by them for local traffic, were at Popham's fort, 
at Richmond's landing, and at Cushnoc. 

To ihe planters at Saco, and their associates, were granted by p.^ipntiai 
the same audiority, on the 12th of February, 1G29, old style, ''^'^*^°" 
[equivalent to Feb. 1, 1030,] two patents, severally four miles 
by the shore, and eight, on each bank of the river. The propri- 
etors named in the one on the southerly side, were Richard Pines 
and John Oldham ; those in the other, Thomas Lewis and John 
Bonython. It seems that Oldham had been here six years, 
and Vines seven ; and that the former had at his own expense 
transported hither several settlers, and encountered great danger 
and fatigue. Indeed, the grant itself was made in consideration 
of nothing more than a small quitrent, past services, and the cn- 

the Superior Court of Massacliusetls and Maine, determined the southerly 
line of the patent to pass easterly and westerly tlirough the bend of Ihe 
ri\x;r Cobbcsscecontce which is nearest tlie western ocean. — Sullivan, p. 
lis.— This was confirincJ l)y a Stale's deed, Feb. IS, 17S9, — and defined to 
be (on the east side of the Kenncbeck) " in the nortli line of Woolwich." 
The north line being without any definite boundary, was determined by 
deed, obtained of the Sagamores, A. D. 1648, by the riymouth Colony, and 
another A. D. 1653. "of all the lands from Cuslinoc to Wessarunset ;" and 
by the surveys and plans of Johnson, Bane and Bradbury, and the deposi- 
tions of old naco. See " statement vf Kenneheck Claim,''' A. D. 1783 — 5, con- 
firmed by same Deed of State, 17S9. — 3 Grcenlenf's Bcp. p. 111. — Ought 
not the date of the Pat. to be " A. D. 1630," new style .' — Prince's .liiiu 
p. 197— S.— Sullivan, p. 170. 



ScJS THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1629. gagements bythem and their associates, to bring 50 inhabitants 
into the plantation within seve7i years, and to advance, as much 
as practicable, its interests, and give it strength and safety against 
' natives and invaders.'* The first habitations were near the sea- 
shore ) and though the increase and growth of the plantation 
had hitherto been quite slow, its people were orderly, healthlul, 
and contented. If ancient statements be correct, they had, 
about this time, perhaps when the patent was received, an organ- 
ized administration of government, "Vines being Governor, and 
Bonython assistant. "f They also raised taxes for the support 
of public worship ; and cultivated an harmonious and lucrative 
intercourse with their savage neighbors, 
l.j-goiiia Another patent, much more extensive and important, was obtain- 
1630. ' 6d from the same source, A. D. 1G30, and called Lygonia. The 
territory, though indefinitely described, was 40 miles square, and 
extended from Cape Porpoise to Casco, as limited ; but as it was 
afterwards considered, it reached to the southerly margin of Mer- 
ryconeag peninsula, [Harpswell,] in Casco hay.\ In some in- 
stances the Plymouth Council gi-anted the rights, both of soil and 
government. The present was of that character, being a charter 
of privileges as well as a patent of lands. It was executed by 
the Earl of Warwick, their president, and by Sir Ferdinando, 
claimant of the country under a former assignment of Laconia to 
him and Mason, followed by a partition between them. If we 
may give credit to Hubbard and Sullivan, John Dye, Thomas 
Impe, Grace Harding, and John Roach, gentlemen of London, 
were the proprietary grantees ; and they made provision for set- 

* Livery of siezin was given June 23 and 28, 1631. — See these two pa- 
tents entire in Appx. of Folsom's Saco and Biddcford, p. 315 — 319. — Sec 
also jB^-. of Claims, Y>. 8 — 53. — Vines was the agent of Gorges, who for the 
most part kept the plantation in his own hands. — Hubbard's JV. E. p. 224. 

•]• In the memorandum to the deed of Passaconaway and others, May 17, 
1629, this is inserted as an attestation, " Richard Vines, Governor, Richard 
Bonython, assistant of the pl-antation of Saco." — 1 Belk. JV", H. Appx. p. 
291. — But quere as to the genuineness of that deed? — See Sullivan, p. 114 
218—220 — 224. — Vines lived near Winter-harbor on the sea shore. — Bonyt- 
hon lived on the east side of the river, l-4th mile from the water. — SuH. 
p. 224. 

I It extended to Kcnnebunk river west; and probably to Harpswell, east, 
for the titles to the lands in the latter town were from the Plymouth pro- 
prietors.— ./VS. Letter of Rev. J\Jr. Eaton.— The patent says its extent " is 
<0 miles." — It is "south of Sagadahock," from C. Poipoise to C. Elizabeth, 



Chap, hi.] of Maine. 239 

tling a colony principally with agriculturalists, and establishing a A, D. ig30, 
form of civil government. To encourage emigration, very an- 
imating stories were told. The shores were represented, as in- 
dented with harbours, adorned with Islands, and w;ishcd by never- 
freezing waters ; and the uplands as diversified widi promontories, 
streams and marshes, and heavily clothed with a mixture of hard 
wood and evergreen, which must possess a deep productive soil ; 
and while settlers were converting it into enclosures of cultivation, 
they could take sea and river fish, land and water fowl, and 
plenty of game, such as beaver, bear and deer. 

In the spring, a connexion was formed between the patentees ^„cH,^'jui'y. 
and Bryan Brinks, John Smith, and eight other husbandmen, who 
engaged to emigrate ; and a small vessel of only GO tons, drawing 
ten feet of water, was procured, which in comjilimcnt to the en- 
terprize, was called the Plough. She sailed under the command 
of Capt. Graves, and arrived at Sagadahock in July. The com- 
pany settled themselves on the south side of that river, " in Casco 
Bay," — at a place not ascertained with certainty, perhaps at Pur- 
pooduck, or on the Peninsula. Here considerable money was ex- 
pended, improvements were made, and suitable constitutions and 
laws were established for governing the youthful colony.* 

Displeased with their local situation, or the wild appearance of 
tiie country, these colonists, like those of 1 GOT, tarried one year 
only ; and then the most, or all of them, being collectively called 
in derision " the husband and company," abandoned the under- 
takinsr. Indeed, the idea of agriculture was treated wiiii so much 
contempt by some adventurers of the day, that the patent itself 
was by way of ridicule called the " Plough Patent." Informed, 
probably, of the fleet which had passed their shores with the Mas- 
sachusetts colonists, the greater part re-embarked in the Plough, 
proceeded to Boston, in July 1G31, and thence to Watertown ; 
and Mr. Winthrop says, " most of them proved familists and van- 

* It was a disputed point if the P. Council could grant the prcrogativea 
of n^ovcrnincnt.— 1 Dovg. Sum. p. 416.— 1 Bell.: JV. //. p. 28.— 1 Hutch. 
Hist. p. 317. — Sullivan, p. 305, saj-e, the adventurers meant to pursue ag^- 
riculture as well as trade and tlie fisliery. Two Islands were grsnted in the 
river Sa;jadaliock, "about three score miles from the sea,"' under 43'' and 
44" N. Lat., but there are none such hereabouts.— SuZ/u-an, p. 310—311 — 
312. 



240 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1630. ished away."* This, however, is considered the era of the orig^ 
inal settlement about Casco.f FaiUng of success in the first 
endeavour, the Patentees, in 1638, took another associate, Mr, 
Richard Dummer, of Newbury, in N. England; — to whom they 
delivered the original patent, and gave him ample powers to 
take possession of the country. But he was unable to succeed 
in the plans they devised ;J and the settlements eastward of 
Spurwink, where Commock, Gains and Joscelyn,§ began a plan- 
tation, must have been few and feeble, till the patent was assign-, 
ed to Sir Alexander Rigby. 
^'ifo-^^oV ^^^ "^^^ patent granted by the Plymouth Council, was on 
Waldo I'a- ti^g 2d of March, 1630, to John Beauchamp, of London, and 
Thomas Leverett, of Boston, in England j and was called the 
" MuscoNGUS Patent, or grant. '^ Its extent was from the sea-, 
board between the rivers Penobscot and Muscongus, to an un^ 
surveyed line running east and west, so far north as would, without 
interfering with the Kennebeck Patent or any other, embrace a, 
territory equal to 30 miles square. || About 89 years afterwards, 
the Waldos became extensively interested in the grant ; and from 
them it took the name of " the Waldo Patent.^ It was pro-- 
cured expressly for the purposes of an exclusive trade with 
the natives. It contained no powers of civil government. The asso- 
ciates concerned in the anticipated traffic, were the Patentees, and 
Shirley, Hatherly, and Andrews. They appointed Edward Ashley 
their agent, and William Pierce an assistant ; and despatched them 
the same summer in a small new-made vessel, with five labourers, 
one of them a carpenter, and furnished them with provisions, arti^ 
cles of trade and supplies, equal to the exigency of the enterprize, 
In the autumn, they procured at New^Plymouth, " corn and wam- 

* Winthrop's Jour. July 1631, p. 27.— Hubbard's N. E. p. 141. 

f At Purpoodic, the first settlement was early. — J\IS, Let. E. Thrasher^ 
Esq. — Commock, Gaines and Joscelyn began at Black Point, towards Spur- 
wink. 

J Hubharcfs J^ar. p. 293 — 294. — He says, " being^ denied an opportunity 
to effect it, Dqmmer came over iq 1632, He was ao aqcestor of Jjt. Got, 
Dummer." 

5 Sullivan, p. 128. 

II About 1,000,000 acres. The north line of the patent, as since settled, 
is in the south line of Hampden, Newburg- and Dixmont. 

^ See 1 Haz. Coll. p. 304— 5. The patent itself is in the family of tb? 
iale Gen. Knox. The date there is " March 13, 1629," old style, 



Chap. III.] of malne. 241 

pum" suited to the wants of winter.* They established a truck- a. d. insi- 
house on the eastern banks of St. George's river, five miles below 
the head of tide-waters,f where a possession and traffic were 
continued till the first Indian war. 

The eighthj and last grant of lands, by the Plymouth Council, Pemaquid 
within the present state of Maine, was the " Pemaquid§ Pa- ""^^"^ 
TENT," which was dated Feb. 20th 1631. This was to two mer- 
chants of Bristol, Robert Jlldsivorth and Gyles Elbridgc. It 
extended from the sea between the rivers Muscongus and Dam- 
ariscotta, so far northward as to embrace 12,000 acres, besides 
settlers' lots ; as it also was to include 1 00 acres, for every per- 
son, who should be transported hither by the proprietors within 
seven years, and reside here three years. The grant was made 
to the patentees in consideration of public services past, and their 
present engagements to build a town. It included the Damaris- 
cove Islands, and all others within nine leagues of the shore. 

By this instrument, 11 which was a charter as well as patent, 
extensive privileges were secured to the proprietary grantees and 
their associates, and also the powers of establishing an adminis- 
tration of civil government. They had a right to hunt, fish, fowl, 
and trade with the natives, in any part of New-England ; and 
these were their exclusive privileges, within their own patent. 
The fee-simple seemed to have been granted ; yet upon condi- 
tion of forfeiture, if conv'eyed to any other than " their ten- 
ants." They were authorized to elect such civil officers by a 
major vote, and enact or make such laws, as the exigency of 

* Prince's Ann. p. 203. 

f 1 Douglas, Summ. p. 385,466.— The ship in which Mr. Allerton, of N. 
Plymouth came, was the Lyon. Capt. Wm. Pierce, master, wlio sailed from 
Bristol, England, for Penobscot with the agent of the Muscongus patentees, 
accompanied by 4 or 5 men. Allerton, was engaged in a trading house at 

Penobscot and Machias. — i>?-a(//br(/"« Letters. 3 Coll. J\l. Hist. Soc. 

p. 70.— 72. 

I Namely, 1 Laconia AD. 1622; 2d Agamenticiis ; 3d Black Point; 
4th Kennebec; 511) Saco(2); 6th Lygonia ; and Ttli IMiiscongiis. 

} >' Pemkiieag." — Indian. 

II See an extract of this in 1 FTaz. CoH. p 315 — 313: and entire, in the 
Commissioners^ Report upon the causes of the difficulties in the county of Lin- 
coln, A. n. 1011. p. 33—41. By the location of the settlers, on lots of 100 
acres, from year to year, and then giving the quot.i of 12,0(0 acres to the 
proprietors, caused long difficulties ; the claim amounting ia all to about 
90,000 acres. 

Vot. I. 18 



242 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. iGSi-ihelr affairs required. They mightseize by force of arms, all 
unlicensed intruders, and confiscate their property. But no resi- 
dent Governor might ever take a planter from his employments, 
otherwise than for the public defence. Another patent was to 
be granted, if requested within seven years, under some fit name 
and more ample form of privileges. 

First settle- The earliest settlements seem to have been on the western 

simnV, ' banks of Pemaquid river, in 1623 or 4. A deed of lands in 
this quarter, was executed by two Sagamores to John Brown, 
July 15th, 1625 ;* and according to the deposition of Abraham 
Shurte, he himself, as a magistrate of Pemaquid, took the ac- 
knowledgment of it in the same month of the following year. 
Shurte was the agent of the proprietors, and five years previous- 
ly, he had purchased for them the Island of Monhegan.f 

A foj't was built there, the year before the date of the patent. J 
and rifled by pirates in November, 1632.§ Formal possession 
was given and taken under the same instrument, May 27, 1633 5|| 
and the plantation had a gradual uninterrupted growth till the 
first Indian war. The settlements extended to Damariscotta, 
and especially at the lower falls, they were seen rising on both 
sides of the river. 

The visitants, as well as inhabitants, were highly pleased 
with the situation of Pemaquid. A smooth river navigable a 
league and a half above the point, a commodious haven for 
ships, and an eligible site for a fortress, at once, filled the eye. 
Here was a canal cut 10 leet in width, and variously deep from 6 
to 10 feet, on the east side of the river which passes the first 
ripples; — an enterprize devised and finished, at a time and by 
hands unknown.*^ 

The grants These patents of the Plymouth Council together, embraced 

in general. '■ . ^ 

the whole seaboard from Piscataqua to Penobscot, exceptmg 

* Com. Report, 1811, p. 1U6— 7. 

f Ills dcp. in lb. 4G, 41. — Slmrte was the means of restoring to a Ljna 
Sachem his wife, taken b}^ ths Eastern Indians, in 1631. 

J 1 Doug. Sum. p. 466. J 1 Belk. N. II. p. 24. 

11 in presence of Tliomas Commock, Christopher Buruhead, George 
Newman, William Hook and Robert Knight. 

IT It -was 20 rods in length ; and passed down a smooth inclined plain. 
No water runs there at present. 



Chap, hi.] of Maine. 243 

what lies between Sagadahock and Damariscotta ; and the most A. D. ]C3i. 
of this intermediate coast, was, at the time, claimed under the 
Kcnnebcck Patent. Every one of them reserved to the crown, 
and to the Council, severally, a fiftii of all precious metals ; but 
in no other respects than what have been noticed, did they differ 
materially from each other. It is apjiarent, they were multiplied 
by that body in hasty succession, possibly through an apprehen- 
sion of its being soon dissolved. The most of them bear the 
signature of Gorges, and it must be acknowledged they are richly 
endued with privileges. 

" The territory of Sasradnhock,^* situated between the river of Scii'ements 
that name and Damariscotta, a tract of only five leagues in width, s.iKa.i;i- 
inchiding the Shec{)scot and the Islands, had attracted early and P.-imaris- 
perpetual attention. John Smith, in 1G14 and 15, and Thomas at Pi^caia- 
Dermer, in 1619, undertook to revive the settlement, which had^"^' 
failed under the presidency of Popliam. " By Dermer's pru- 
" dence and care, a lasting peace was effected betwixt the na- 
" tives of the place and the English ; and nmtual confidence 
" restored, so that the plantation began to prosper."* There 
were inhabitants, traders, and fishermen on the river continually 
from A. D. 1G26, to the first Indian war. Also we find residents 
as early about Damariscotta lower falls, as at Pemaquid ; and 
above Wiscasset, we are told, there were, " in the year 1630, 
" fifty families on what were called the Sheepscot farms "f At 
Cape-JVewagcn [in Boothbay,] and jYequcisset [in ^Voolwich,] 
there were ancient settlements, begun perhaps by fishermen. J 

Mention is also to be made at this time, of the settlements 
commenced on the northerly banks of the Piscataqua, and the 
river above. These were at Kittery-point, at Spruce "creek, at Stur- 
geon creek [Elliot,] atQuampeagan falls, [or the Parish of Unity,] 
and the ancient Newichawannock [or Berwick] j — Some or all of 

* Hubbard's Nar. p. 289. 

jSullivan,p. 165, 167, ITO. — Waller Phillips lived rm Ihc west side of 
Damariscotta, not fur from the Great, or Lower Falls. Thomas Gent, 
lived at vSlicepscot Great Neck, where was a fort. — Cufn. Report, 1811, 
p. 9-^. 

J The titlis in Goorg-cfown arc tliroiifth the Kenncbcck Patent, the Lake 
and the Salter rights ; in Boothbay and Woolwich, from old Indian deeds to 
Bateman, Brown and others; in Sheepscot, by settlement and Indian 
deeds. 



244 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1631. which were seven years of age in 1631 ; being collectively called 

the Plantation of Piscataqua. 
j^g^^_ Between these and the lower plantation on the south side of 

Hampshire the river, at the present Portsmouth, and the upper one at and 

Plantations. ' ^ ' 

about Cochecho [Dover,] and Squamscot falls [at Exeter,] there 
was constant intercourse and some political connexion.* The 
patrons of the former, were Gorges, Mason and the London ad- 
venturers, whose agent was Walter Neal ; and of the latter, sev- 
eral Bristol and Shrewsbury gentlemen, who had intrusted the 
agency to Thomas Wiggin. Neal's residence was partly at Kit- 
tery-point and partly at Strawberry-bank [Portsmouth.] He had 
five associates, in the various business of trade, lumbering, fish- 
ing, salt-making and husbandry; two of whom, Chadbourne and 
Gibbins, living at Newichawannock. Being the joint agent of 
Gorges and Mason, as well as the " governour" of their affairs 
and of tlie plantations, Neal made grants in Kittery,f which have 
been holden valid, effected some discoveries in the interior and 
remote parts of Laconia, and returning to England in 1634, was 
succeeded by Francis Williams.J 



* 1 Belk. N. H. p. 25,-27, 291. Hubbard's N. E. p. 216, 217. 

f Neal sold all the !nnd in KUterj' between A. D. 1632-4; and there are 
no other grants frotn Gorges and Mason jointly to be found on record. — 
Sullivan, p. 127, 142-3. 

I Chalmers, p. 472. — 1 Haz. Coll. 323. — Adventurers were much dis- 
couraged in 1632. Capt. Commock, of Black-point and Mr. Godfrey, prob- 
ably of Agamcnticus, went from Piscataqua in Oct. 1632, in Capt. Neal's 
pinnace to Boston, and carried 16 hhds. of corn to mill. — Winthrop^s Jour, 
p. 44. 

N. B. — It is stated by one writer that the Council, hx patent in 1631, 
"■ conveyed to Robert Trelawney and JJoses Goodyear, of Plymouth (Eng- 
land) merchants, a tract of land extending from the mouth of a small 
stream called Spurwink river, on the line between the towns of Scarboro' 
and Cape Elizabeth, fifteen 7???7(?s into the interior ; thence crossing east- 
wardly to Presuinpscot river, and so dov/n to the sea. Portland and sev- 
eral other towns are situated within the limits of this patent." — Folsnm, 
p. 29. The patentees did not come over, but sent their associate, John 
Winter ; to whom Mr Vines, the attorney to the Council delivered posses- 
sion, July 21, 1632. Mr. Winter established himself at Richmond Island, 
where he resided 1.) years and employed sometimes 60 men in the business 
of fisliing. — To V/ inter was committed tlie full government of the planta- 
tion.""— Ji/*if/i/ji''j* l-^oynges. 



Chap, iv.] of Maine. 245 



CHAPTER IV. 

-Voi'fl Scotia — Gra/it> to la Tour — His torn mis!! ion — Treaty of St. 
(jfcrmains — Aradia resii^nrd to /■Vance — Governed bi/ Razilla — 
Penobscot truck-house rifled — Machias trading-house set up by 
New-Plymouth — Grants to Razilla and la Tour — Machias truck- 
house rijlcd — The natives restless — Piracy — Homicide at Kcnnc' 
beck — Gorges and Mason purchase out the interest of Proprie- 
tors — The Charter of the Plymouth Council dissolved — Twelve 
lioyal Provinces formed — Attack upon Massachusetts Charter — 
Lords Commissioners of Plantations — Mason's death — Gorges' 
discouragements. 

Sir William Alexander, after the royal confirmation of his -^ ^ "^30 
charter, transported Scotchmen hither, to settle at Cape Sable ^"'■'^ S'°" 
and one or two other places, and undertook to govern it by a 
palatinate commission.* But this was visionary ; — and his efforts 
were both ill concerted and feeble. The energy of Gorges aiid 
the perseverance of Mason, were qualities to which he was a total 
stranger. He stood trembling in the late war through fear, that 
his province would be seized upon by the French ; when Claude 
St. Estienne dc la Tour, a French Protestaut, perceiving; his dif- 

/. , ■ 1 r rf t ■ • r nrnnls to la 

ficultics, procured of the French king, in 1627, a grant of lands, Tour, 
five leagues on each side of the river St. John, extending back 
two leagues from'the shore ; and tlien by the arts of address, and 
the more powerful arts of religious profession ; by proffering his 
assistance in the cause of colonial settlements, and shewing a high 
respect for the Scottish presbyterians ; he ingratiated himself into 
the favour of Sir William, and obtained leave to build and im- 
prove within his patent. f 

La Tour's immediate residence seems to have been, either at 
Port-Royal or " the fort la Tour and Alexander," on the river 
St. John ; and Sir William, who had the right of conferring titles 
of honour upon any inhabitant of New-Scotland, gave him, Nov. 
30, 1629, the hereditary order of baronet of the country, in ex- 

* Sullivan, p. 275. f 1 Hutchinson's History, i>. 121—122. 



246 

A. D. 1G30. 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol. 1. 



He is H|j- 

pointed 

Governor, 



Feb II, 
1631. 



March 29, 
^1632. 
Treaty of 
St. Ger- 
4nBiiis. 



press retribution for his worth and high attachments to the British 
interests.* Indeed, his friendship and favour appear extravagant; 
for on the 30th of April, 1630, a (e\v days after peace, he gave 
la Tour and his son Charles, a patent of territory, from Cape 
Sable to la Heve, 15 leagues in breadth ; embracing at least a 
third part of the peninsula. It was a valuable acquisition ; and 
in return, they merely engaged to hold it, erected into two Baro- 
nies, equally divided between them, in fief as an inheritable titu- 
lar dignity, and ever after, to be the faithful vassals of the king 
of Scotland. Sir William, moreover, told them, they should 
have a charter, when requested, under the great seal of ithat 
kingdom, with more ample immunities ; and. May 12th, he extend- 
ed to the son, the same title of honour, he had conferred upon 
the father ; all which, he says, was in consideration of their 
merit and services. •]■ 

La Tour being determined to have a good portion of the 
country, whether it was under the dominion of England, France, 
or Scotland, procured, it is said, from king Charles, a confirma- 
tion of Sir William's grant to him, J and from Louis, the French 
king, a commission, Feb. 11, 1631, to begovernour of Acadia.§ 
But the settlements were far from enjoying prosperity and con- 
tentment. Even the people of Port-Royal, had, the preceding 
winter, while la Tour was there, suffered to such a degree, 
through want of provisions and suitable accommodations, that, 
of 70 English, French, and Scotch, in community, 30 died be- 
fore spring. The Scottish emigrants, indisposed to be under 
French rule, preferred to return home, and subsequent events 
shewed the wisdom of their choice. 

The treaty of St. Germains, March 29, 1632, laid open to 
New-England the fate of this Acadian region. By the 3d arti- 
cle, Charles resigned to the French monarch, " all the places 
" occupied by British subjects, in New-France, Acadia and Can- 
" ada — especially the command of Port-Royal, Fort Quebec 
" and Cape Breton." 

*The title—" Sir Claude de St. Estienne, knight, lord de la 'J'our et do 
"la War, baronet of New-Scotland." — His son's — •' Charles St. (de Den- 
" niscourt et Baig-neux) lord," &c. The badg-e of office was, — " in gold 
" enamelled, from an orange tawny ribband (pendant) this circumscription, 
" Fax mentin Honestac Gloria." — 1 IJaz. Coll. p. 298. 

f 1 Haz, Coll. p. 307 — 9, where the patent is entire. 

I 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 121. (i Letter Book, Sec. office Boston, 103, 



Chap, iv.] OF MAINE. 247 

From this transaction may be traced events in train most im- a. d. 1632. 
portant to tlie northern colonics, especially Maine, and also to Am.ii.i le- 
Eiitjland herself.* It was an exercise of royal prerogative in iv.'.^cc" 
character. For it originated in the intrigues of a niarriage-hio- 
kerage, seven years before ; and was finished without consulting 
the nation's feelings or the rights of individuals. It is true, the 
ministry promised Sir David Kirk £5000 in consideration of his 
claim to Canada, yet it was never paid.f Sir William was cre- 
ated earl of Sterling ; but if he were flattered with any hopes of 
further rewards, or future emolument from his Province, they 
were blasted bv disappointment. The English were not, how- 
ever, to be wholly excluded from Acadia ;J though the act amount- 
ed to a downright cession, without limits or condition. Had INova 
Scotia, which has boundaries, been mentioned in the treaty, the ex- 
tent of the restitution could have been ascertained ; whereas, by the 
artful draft of the third article, the avenues were opened for un- 
limited controversies about lines and limits, which are among the 
worst of national evils. § 



* Chalmers, p. 112, supposes — to tins transaction may be traced a cause 
of the disputes of llic Colonics nilli the motlicr countr}'. — Brit. Am, 346. 
t 1 Coll. Mass. Ilis. Soc. p. 233, 3d scries. |Ogilby, p. 13-1. 

JTIiis 3d ^■J/Y/c/c is in 1 fFnz. d///. p. 319-320. Also 19 I'ol. liymcr, p. 
3(50—1, in Funrh. It is said this treaty was long in nefr<^ciation, — finisiicd 
in 1631. But the third Article was not lacked to it till March 29, 1632. 

As this article is important, it m.\y be proper to give a literal 

translation in liiis place. — •' His Majesty of Great Britain promises by his 
" ambassador — to give up and restore to his most Christian MaJL&ty all the 
" places occupied in jVew- France, Acadia and Canada by his subjects of his 
• Majesty of Great Britain, causing- the latter to retire from the said pla- 
" ces — and deliver to the commissaries of the most Christian king in good 
'• faith, the power whicli he (the ambassador) has from his Majesty of Great 
" Britain, for the restitution of the said places, together with the orders 
''of his said Majesty, to all those commanding \n Port-Royal, Fort-Quebec, 
^^ and Cape-Breton, in order that the said places be given up and re- 
«' stored into the hands of those to whom it shall please his most Christian 
" Majesty to direct, eight days after said orders shall be notified to those 
"now commanding pr may command in the said jdaccs. The said term of 
" eight days being given them to retire from said places, positions, and 
" forts, with their arms, baggage, goods, gold, silver, furniture, and gencr- 
" ally all that may belong to them— to whom and to all those who arc in 
" the said places is given the term of three weeks after the said eight days 
«' are expired, during which, or sooner, if may be, to embark in their ves- 
'* sels with their arms — and generally all which belongs to them, to remove 



248 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1633, Such proceedings, and the idea of a residence in the vicinity 
of papists, filled the Enghsh colonists with the deepest anxieties 
and regrets.* About this time the Plymouth Council, checked 
in their course by these events and others at home, suspended 
further grants ; holding by their charter, the territory between 
Penobscot and St. Croix, unassigned and unsold. 

t^klTof " Cardinal Richelieu, prime minister of France, appointed M. 

der^Kazma ^^ RaziUci, a military ofiicer, to take the possession and com- 
mand of the Acadian country ; and the keys of Port-Royal, and 
of the fortress in the Scottish plantation at Cape Sable, were 
demanded without loss of time. The other scattered settlements 
were ready to accept of any patron or protector ; and the Car- 
dinal made speedy preparations to ship hither, companies of 
planters, a fresh supply of Jesuit missionaries, and the necessary 
provisions. f 

The same year Samuel Champlain returned to Quebec and 
resumed the government of Canada j and within the three last 
years of his life, he saw his colony, aided by new recruits, by 
the generosity of benefactors, and by the " Company of New 
France," rising to a flourishing condition. | 

I^i'ze^'^*.!'^'' Apprehensions, entertained by the English Colonists of secret 

Penobscot. ^j.^g Qj. smj(]en violence in seizing upon the country, were not with- 
out foundation. For at an unguarded hour a French vessel, pilot- 
ed by a treacherous Scotchman, visited the New-Plymouth trad- 

' from thence into England without staying- longer in those countries." 

—The Frenchified Court of Cliarlcs I. might as well have given up 

Massachusetts as Acadia ; — for the French could make out no better title 
to one than the other.— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 33, 34, 93. 

*Winthrop's Journal, p. 47. 

t Chalmers, 154.— Winthrop's Jour. 37. 1 1 Belk. Biog. p. 344. 

\ Champlain in Slh Chap, of his J^oyages, calls the south shore of the 
Peninsula, the Acadia. Mons. Denys, a man of merit and a correct writer, 
compiled a Geographical and Historical Description of N. America, A. D. 
1672 in two volumes. The first gives a description of the country between 
Penobscot and Cape Rozier, and the 2d comprehends the Natural History 
and account of the natives. He was Gov. and Lt. Gen. under the French 
king and dwelt a long time in the country. He supposes the northern and 
eastern regions of the French were Canada; therefore he divides the coun- 
try into Provinces ;— the 1st extending from Pentagoet to St. John, previ- 
ously as he says ' Norimbagua ;' 2d, from St. John to Cape Sable, called 
Bay Francois; 3d, Acadia, from Cape Sable to Cape Canseau ; and 4th, 
from Cape Canseau, to Cape Rozier, called Bay of St. Lawrence or 
Gaspe- The latter, Denys himself claimed. 



Chap, iv.] of Maine. 249 

ing-house at Penobscot, early in June; vhen her crew, conduct- A. D. iC32. 
ing in the true cliaracter of (rrebootcrs,-r-^pretended they had 
put into harbour in distress, and would esteem a jiermission to 
repair leaks and refresh themselves, as a great favour. Embol- 
dened by generous courtesies received, as well as by information 
of the master's absence with most of his men on a tour westward 
for t;:;oods, they first examined the fort-arms to ascertain if they were 
charged ; then seizing swords, and loaded muskets, ordered 
the three or four remaining keepers of the truck-house to surren- 
der upon pain of instant death, and to deliver their goods and 
immediately help put them on board. Having in this shameful 
manner rifled the fort of its contents, to the amount of £500, 
they bade the men this taunting and insulting farewell, — ^ tell rj our 
master to remember the Isle oyRc.'* 

But the New-Plymoutii colonists, undismayed by this piratical a.D. 1C33. 
attack, kept the station and pursued their traffic, three years 
longer, before they were forced to abandon the place entirely. 
Moreover the next spring, they established at Machias a new trad- '^'achias 

. . . Tr.Tcliii^- 

ing-house, which they replenished with a variety of valuable ii<use. 
commodities, and put it under a guard of 5 or 6 men, trust- 
worthy and well armed. f It was an eli'zible station, above Cross 
Island on the west bank of the river ; the remains of an ancient 
fort being yet visible there. They might have been encouraged 
and supported in this enterprize, by colonial proprietors, and 
even by the Plymouth Council, in a full determination to keep 
possession of the country. 

The French monarch desirous to advance the settlement of p,.p„p|, 
his Acadian colony, made several grants. One of the first was i;|i'^iiia'anci 
to Razilla,J which embraced the river and bay of St. Croix, '" ^*^"''' 
and the Islands in the vicinity, "12 leagues on the sea and 20 
leagues into the land." Its eastern boundary probably adjoined 
the western line of the royal patent, made three years before to 
la Tour. The new grant was extensive ; yet it is not ascertained, 



* Hubbard's JV. E. p. 161.— 1 Hutchinson's His. p. 34.— The French took 
" 300 lbs of Beaver." The taunt alluded to the brilliant successes of the 
French at (he Isle of Re, in France, A. D. 1627.— 1 Hume p. 370. 

t Mr. Vines, of Saco, was part owner of the goods ; and is said to have 
been the principal sufferer when they were taken awaj-. — JVinthrop's 
Jour. p. 301. 

X\ Hutchinson'' s Hist. \>. 121 says, it was to la Tour : but Chalmers, p. 
186, and 1 Charlevoix, 170, say it was made to Razilla. 
Vol I. 19 



250 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D 1634. whether it did or did not extend southward of the river St. 
Croix. Certain it is, that every other was northward of it, if we 
except the dormant one to de INIonls. 

The next year, he made to Claude de la Tour four important 
grants.* One was an hundred miles eastward upon the coast 
from the Isle of Sables, and as many miles inland ; a 2d was that 
Island itself; and the other two were upon the north shore of the 
Peninsula, viz. Port-Royal and a territory about it two leagues 
square ; and Minus, a tract of like extent still farther eastward, 
on the bay of that name. His command was subordinate to 
Razilla, and his principal pursuit was a traffic with the natives. 
La Tour Avarice, pride, and passion were la Tour's faults ; and such 
Maciiias'"" high resentments did he affect to feel, when he heard of the trad- 
to'pema-'* ing house set up at Macbias, that he hastened away to lay it in 
^"' ' ruins. Meeting with resistance, he killed two of the defendants ; 

and after rifling the house of all tlie valuable articles he could find, 
he carried his booty and the survivors to Port-Royal. — The 
amount of property pillaged was 4 or £500. Afterwards 
in reply to Mr. Allerton, of New-Plymouth, who came to re- 
cover the prisoners and goods, and to inquire if he had au- 
thority for this transaction ; la Tour, declared with no small 
degree of impudence and insult, / have taken them as laivful 
•prize; — my authority is from the kiiig of France, who claims the 
coast from Cope Sable to Cape Cod; — / wish the English to 
understand, if they trade to the eastward of Pemaquid, I shall 
seize them ; — my sword is all the cominission I shall show ; — 
when I xc ant help, I will produce my authority, f Take your 
men and begone. 
Conduct of Within the last three years, some restlessness and hostile move- 
ments were apparent among the Indians. A barter with them 
had been extensive ; the traders were characters whose probity 
was often questionable ; all the civil authority of the country 
w^as in name, rather than in vigorous exercise ; and when or where 
it becomes a maxim, ' to cheat an Indian in the dark is a small sin,' 
we may suppose acts of injustice will be multiplied, and acts of 
revenge will be repeated in return. Take an instance: — At 



* These were confirmatory of liis g-rants from Alexander. 
\ Ilubbard^s J^. E. Tp. 163. — Winthrop^s Jo%ir. p. 57, — 7S.— But in pagt 
500, it would seem la Tour sent the prisoners to France. 



Chap, iv.] OF MAINE. 251 

Richmond Island, lived one Waltar Bagnall* called great Watt, A.D. 1634. 
* where he and his companion, by three years' trade with the na- 
tives, had amassed property to the amount of £400. But 
wealth acquired by fraud, is often taken awny by force. Squid- 
rayset,f a Sagamore, and a few of his tribe, filled with revenge 
for wrongs received, went to the Island in the fall of 1G31, killed 
the men, and after plundering the house, reduced it to ashes. J 
Neal, immediately dispatched from Piscataqua a party in search 
of the murderers. The pursuers found at the Island, " Black 
Will," whom though as probably innocent as guilty, they in ven- 
geance hung up by the neck till he was dead.§ In return, h's blood 
was avenged the winter following, upon an English traveller 
wandering up the Saco;|| — deaths to be far more deeply lament- 
ed, because they excited enmity between the parties. 

The Tarratines or Eastern Indians, as dieir intercourse with 
the French became familiar, were evidently much emboldened 
in feats of courage and purposes of revenge. The Sagamores 
of Agawam [Ipswich,] having treacherously slain several 
"Tarratine families," were thought to be sheltering themselves 
in a cowardly manner, under the protective friendship of the 
English planters at that place. This awakened feelings of 
animosity towards both ; and an intended massacre was fortun- 
ately prevented by Robin, an Indian friend, who gave to an Eng- 
lish youngster the information. On the appointed day, four sav- 
ages came and began to talk with him. But his looks and lan- 
guage towards them were rough : — Begone said he or Vll shoot 
you. Believing their plot discovered, they fled. He then beat 
briskly upon a drum, and fired an alarm-gun; and presently he 
saw 40 canoes full of savages push out to sea. This was in 
1632; afterwards, the brave Tarratines, making another attack 
upon the Agawam Indians, slew several ; and not far from Bos- 
ton carried off a Sagamore's wife in triumph. IF 



* Bajnall was a wicked fellow and had much wrong^ed the Indians. — 
Wmthrop\<i Jour. p. 30. t Or Scilterygusset. 

X In 1632 one Jenkins went with an Indian from Cape Porpoise up into 
the country, with goods to truck or trade, where he was killed and his 
goods stolen, while lie was sleeping- in a wigwam. But a chief recovere<J 
the goods and sent them back. — TFinthrop. J Winthrop'a Jour. p. 30, 

II Hubbard's N. E. p. 142,— 145,— 1G9. 

7 1 Hutchiunon's Hist. p. 82, — 33. 



252 I'HE HISTORY (ToL. I. 

A.D. 1634. These expeditions and skirmishes, the claims and menaces 
Piracy of of the French, and some acts of piracy along the eastern coast, 

Dixy Bull. . 11 • J 1- 

necessarily occasioned no small anxiety and discouragements, 
among the settlers.* A crew of sixteen renegadoes, headed by 
Dixy Bull, a master-spirit of iniquity, from being engaged in 
the Indian trade, turned pirates; and in 1632, were bold and 
desperate enough to attack the fort at Pemaquid, which they suc- 
ceeded in rifling, though with the loss of a ringleader by a shot 
from the palisade. They continued to prowl along the coast, visit- 
ing the Eastern settlements, taking some plunder and doing other 
mischief, till the succeeding summer. In an address sent by them 
to the plantation governors, and signed " Fortune le Garde," 
they say, — we next proceed southward — -never shall hurt any 
more of your countrymen — rather be sunk than taken. They 
were pursued three weeks by a little squadron of four vessels 
and forty armed men, from Piscataqua, joined by a bark from 
Boston, without falling in with them. They proceeded eastward, 
and probably hearing of the bold pusli to take them, left the 
coast. Bull went to England, where he met with his deserts ; 
and we hear nothing of his companions, after 1634, some of 
whom had been barbarously detained by him against their wills. f 
Difficuhies Another difficulty of a criminal character occurred at Kenne- 

fll Kennc •' 

^^«<;k. beck. It arose from the question of exclusive trade. New Ply- 

mouth in the exercise of that right, had upon the river two tra- 
ding stations, at fort Popham and at Cushnoc, and two resident 
magistrates, who were vested whh power to try every case not 
capital. All within the patent were obliged to take the oath of 
allegiance to that colony, and to obey its laws and the orders of 
the magistrates, or be banished. 

In May, one Hoskins coming hither in a vessel of lords Say 
and Brooke, from Piscataqua, was expressly forbidden to trade 
with the natives, and ordered to depart. John Alden, one of the 
magistrates, finding him inexorable, sent three men to cut his ca- 

*In the spring- of 1634, dangers being apprehended from different quar- 
ters, Gov. Winsiow, from New-Plymoiilli, visited the fort of Kennebeck ; 
where an Indian would have killed him had he not stepped down before 
the savage could take aim. Winihrop''s Jour. p. 64. 

^ Hubbard's jY. E. p. IGO — 19G.— 2 Frinct's Ann. p. 73— 83.— Bull and 
his crew, declared agrainst excessive drinking ; — but when ollicrs have 
prayers ' we'll have a story or a song.' — Winlkrop's Jour, p. 4G, 



Chap, iv.] of Maine. 253 

bles* They parted one — touch the other, said he, swearing with a.d. ic34. 
an oath, and seizing a gun, and death is your portion. They cut 
— and he shot one of them dead, receiving himself at the same 
moment a fatal wound. The blood of diese two men closed the 
scene in this quarter.* 

At Boston, afterwards, ?\Ir. Alden was ari'ested on a warrant 
procured by a kinsman of Hoskins, and recognized to answer 
before the next Court of Colonial Assistants. In the mean lime, 
two of the New-Plymouth magistrates and their minister, held a 
consultation widi those of Boston upon the subject; — royalists 
and malcontents exclaiming loudly — when men cut throats for 
beaver, it is high time to have a general government. Wherefore, 
to avoid reproach and censure, Massachusetts encouraged or au- 
thorized a prosecution, though it was an affair exclusively within 
the jurisdiction of New-Plymouth. 

The advisatory tribunal, with prayer and examination of scrip- 
ture, made deep research into the principles and rights of the 
case, and at length decided — 1st. That the New-Plymouth col- 
onists had an exclusive right to the trade within their patent, in 
virtue of the privileges granted ; that besides entering upon the 
territory, vacuum domicilium, they had been the constant posses- 
sors to the present time, undisturbed even by the natives ; and 
that they had originated a gainful traffic with thein, especially in 
wampum, previously unknown to Englishmen. But, 2d. the act 
itself, they said, must be considered in some degree a violation 
of the sixth commandment ; and consequently it drew from Mr. 
Alden, a confession of deep regrets, though he insisted that Hos- 
kins was every way the aggressor. — It was, on the whole, adjudg- 
ed to be " excusable homicide.''^ 

In reply to a mediatorial letter addressed to lords Say and 
Brooke, in England, they said to the Governor of New-Plym- 
outh, — ' we could, for the death of Hoskins, have despatched a 
' man-of-\\ ar and beat down your houses at Kennebcck about your 
' ears ; but we have thought another course preferable ; let some 
' of the jMassachusetts magistrates, and Capt. Wiggin, our agent at 

* Tliis was probably at Ciishnoc, [Augusta.] " Soon after the patent was 
" granted, tlic patentees made a settlement and built a trading' house at 
Cushenock." — Statement of Kenncheck Claims, p. 15. — Twenty bogshcads of 
beaver were taken by N. Plymouth at Kenuebeck this year. — Winthrop, 
p. GO, 



254 THE HISTORY [VoL. f. 

A. D. 1G34. ' Piscataqua, review the whole case and do justice in the premi- 

' ses:' — And here the matter terminated.* 
„ . . Our settlements were now filling; with people. Indeed, such 

Jiimi£frat:on o i r ^ 

rh^^k~H were the numbers, which a spirit of emigration was bringing into 
this country, that the king, in 1633, ordered, for a short time, the 
stay of several ships in the Thames, | though full of passengers 
and ready to sail. The measure was unwise, for most of the 
emigrants had no wealth ; and all that his realm lost by the re- 
movals, his colonies gained. Even English merchants and ad- 
venturers themselves, especially those concerned in the various 
sorts of business at Piscataqua, and eastward, had in view of their 
losses, expenses, and prospects, become greatly discouraged. 
They were obliged to prepare at first an outfit of cattle, swine, 
goats, and sundry articles for building; and likewise supply the 
planters afterwards, from year to year with provisions, clothing, 
farming utensils, and medicines, besides engaging to pay them 
wages. Even the bread-stuff consumed, must necessarily be 
transported from England in meal, or brought from Virginia, or 
ground in Boston, there being no mill nearer. 

Sales lo In this state of despondency, they sold and assigned their whole 

Mason! ^" interest to Gorges and Mason; and, in 1634, these gentlemen 
made partition of all their joint property and concerns, and ap- 
pointed Francis JVilliams, their deputy governor I'espectively ; 
confining their enterprizes, the one to the northerly and the other 
to the southerly side of the Piscataqua. J 

The Piym- At the present tryine; period of their affairs, the old charses 

out!. Coun- ^ V. • • 1 • I 1 • 

cii assailed ; agaiust the Plymouth Council were revived with renovated vigour. 

by Gorges. The merchants beheved it possessed a monopoly of trade, 
which the public good required to be common ; and the Virginia 
company in England boldly threw their weight into the same 
scale. The major part of the Commons considered the members 
of that Council under royal influence, and supremely devoted to 
the claims of prerogative ; all high churchmen looked upon 
them as the foes of prelacy, because their territory had been 

* Winlhrop's Journal, p. 64, GS.—HubbanVs JV. E. p. 168.— He calls the 
captain's uame " Hocking-." 

j Dated Feb. 21, 1633.— 1 Haz. Coll. 31—8, cnlire. 

1 1 Belknap's JV, H. 296—7. Letters dated Aug-. 1633. No mention is 
made of Walter Neal, after 1634 ; Mr. Williams arrived IQZZ.—Huhhard'a 
JS\ E. 219 



Chap, iv.] of Maine. 255 

opened as an asylum to Puritans ; while the king himself suspected A* D. 1634. 
the New-England Colonists were in the enjoyment of liberties 
and privileges, wholly inconsistent with his notions of regal power 
and government. 

Gorges, being chief director in the Council's concerns, was 
again summoned before the Commons to shew cause, why the 
charter should not be revoked. He appeared in person, with 
his counsel, and defended ' the Corporation and its measures,' 
with his accustomed abihty ; pressing upon their recollection the 
unanswerable arguments adduced to them in 1G24, and 1G26. 
He reminded them of his own indefatigable, untiring exertions to 
advance the nation's interests in America ; — ' Yes, says he, I have 
' spent twenty thousand pounds of my estate, and thirty years, 
' the whole flower of my life, in new discoveries and settlements, 
*iipon a remote continent; in the enlargement of my country's 

* connnerce and dominions ; and in carrying civilization and 

* Christianity into regions of savages.' The members of the 
Company, added he, are entire strangers to the monopoly imput- 
ed — and to allege that they as associates have grown rich, is a 
most cruel aspersion ; for they could abundantly demonstrate, 
that their disbursements have very far exceeded their receipts. 
But he perceived now, that all farther resistance was vain. When 
decisions are only sanctions of decrees predetermined, all argu- 
ments, principles and rights, are nullities. A dissolution of the 
Plymouth Council must be its immediate fate. 

Never |)robably had the discouragements of Gore;es and Mason '^iscour- 

■* "^ _ ^ *- _ ajjomeiiiH of 

bordered more nearly upon despair. The charges of establishing fiorges and 

^ _ iMasun. 

a plantation in a wilderness, they lound to be three-fold its worth. 
The planters, being hired servants or tenants, were often indolent 
and wasteful ; and the fruits of their whole labour w ould not yield 
them a tolerable support. No superintendant could control their 
erratic dispositions, or prevent their changes of abode from place 
to place. The proprietors themselves had never visited the 
country, nor established a regular efficient government for the 
punishment of offenders, or the preservation of order. The 
French were making encroachments and committing mischief ; 
the Indians were restless, if not unfriendly ; and to crown all, a 
violent unnatural warfare had commenced between king and peo- 
ple at home. 



256 '^^^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1633. The Plymouth Council awaited its destiny ; — and the remaining 
Twelve Di- members made preparations for its untimely dissolution. Hence, 
iilcTpa- they concluded to divide the whole patent into twelve Royal 
tent. Provinces ; to draw lots, February 3d, 1635, in presence oi his 

Februarys. Majesty, for each of the " Grand Divisions ;" and then to make 
or appropriate the assignments to several " individuals accor- 
dingly." 
The Divis- The first province or division, embraced the country between 
Assinii- St. Croix and Pemaquid, and from the head of the latter in the 
shortest distance to Kennebeck ; thence upwards to its source. 
This was called " the County of Canada ;" and was assigned 
to Sir TVilliam Alexander, Earl of Sterling * It included the 
Muscongus Giant, and the easterly halves of the Pemaquid and 
Kennebeck patents ; extending north to the 48th degree. 

The second Vv'as from Pemaquid to Sagadahock, — a small di- 
vision ; including the western moiety of Pemaquid patent. f 

The third embraced the territory between the Kennebeck and 
Androscoggin, including the westerly half of the New-Plymouth 
or Kennebeck patent, some part of the old Laconian patent to 
Gorges and Mason, and also, a part of the first grant to them. 

The /our^/i extended from Sagadahock to Piscataquaj embrac- 
ing Lygonia, Saco, and Agamenticus. This and the third, or 
preceding division, were assigned to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 
and named JVew Somersetshire.^ 

The fifth included the territory between the rivers Piscataqua 
and Naumkeag, in Massachusetts, from the sea, to a line 60 
miles northerly of their mouths ; also " the south half of the Isle 
of Shoals," and 10,000 acres called " Masonia" on the easterly 
side of Sagadahock at its mouth ; all which was assigned to John 
Mason, who was then Vice-President of the Council. 

The sixth division extended from Naumkeag river around the 



* Tins iTii"'!it have been intended to remunerate him in part for the loss 
of Nova Scotia. Sir William died, 1640 ; his grandson died a few months 
after him; and the last named Earl was succeeded by his uncle Henrj'. 
The Council also assigned to the Earl of Sterling-, " Loi^g Island" oppo- 
site to Connecticut.— 6 Coll. Jlass. Hist. Soc. 185, — 189.— The Plymouth 
patent extended to the 48th degree. 

+ It is said 10,000 acres of this were granted to the Marquis of Hamil- 
ton, and in ' 1637, his heir revived' the claim. — 1 Hutch. Hist. 54. 

■j: Gorges had a confirmation of two, the third and fourth. — Chalmers, p. 
472.— Hub. J^ar. 294. 



Chap, iv.] OF jiaine. 257 

seacoast by Cape Cod to Narraganset. It covered the residue A. D. 1635. 
of Massachusetts, the whole of the New-Plymouth Colony, and 
the patent to Robert Gorges ; and was allotted to the Marquis of 
Hamilton * one of the original members of the Council. 

The seventh was the territory eastward of a monumental boun- 
dary, intended to be set up, at a place equidistant from Narragan- 
set and Connecticut river, extending 50 miles into the country ; 
which was allotted to Lo7-d Edward Gorges, a kinsman of Sir 
Ferdinando, who was then President of the Council. 

The eighth was from that halfway monument to Connecticut 
river, extending also 50 miles into the country ; and was assigned 
to the Earl of Carlisle. 

The ninth was from that river to the Hudson, and from the 
shores to a line 30 miles back ; and the tenth was a parailellogram 
between these rivers, 40 miles deep, immediately above the pre- 
ceding. These two divisions were allotted to the Duke of 
Lenox. 

The eleventh was situated along the west side of the Hudson, 
and extended from the 40th parallel of latitude [near Raritan 
River] " whence New-England beginneth," 30 miles into the coun- 
try: and the tweljth was directly above the latter, 30 miles on 
the river by 40 the other way ; and these two last divisions or 
Provinces were allotted to Lord Mulgrave.-f 

In every Province, each previous proprietor was to be allowed jhe tenure 
in lieu of former grants, 5,000 acres, which were to be holden ""^."f'^/*'' 
of the new proprietary lord ; and 4,000 acres were to be ap- 
propriated for a city and Governor General's seat. Each 
provincial lord was to send over and pay ten men, to be em- 
ployed in building a city, which they were to own in shares ; 
and 10,000 acres were devoted to the foundation of a church 
and the maintenance of clergymen. 

The Council, April 1st, informed his Majesty, they had sub- 
mitted to his pleasure, and prayed him to give new patents to 
the several assignees mentioned, with the powers and privileges 
granted to Lord Baltimore in Maryland, and to commission a 

* He took a patent. — IhibhariVs .V. E. p. 232. — 1 Hutchinsoris Hist. p. 

64 So did Sir Ferdinando. — 1 Doug. Summ. p. 3S7; also John Mason. — 1 

Baz. Coll. 383,-7. 

t See these dWrnons.— Hubbard's J^. E. p. 228,-233 ; and 1 Haz. Coll. 
p. 388. 

Vol. I 20 



258 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A, D. 1635. Governor General over the whole country. Several took new 
patents, particularly Lord Sterluig, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and 
John Mason. 

Attack upon 'pjjg j-ig-hts and claims of the Massachusetts colonists were the 

Ma-iSPfhu- ° 

setts Cba- greatest obstacles, apparently in the way, to prevent the comple- 
tion of the arrangement. Hence the council petitioned the king to 
revoke their charter, alleging, that it had been surreptitiously 
obtained, and was holden wrongfully ; that their territory in fact 
belonged to Robert Gorges, who when governor took actual 
possession of it ; that the present claimants were downright in- 
truders, who after oisti ig his tenants, had extravagantly stretched 
their pretended grant from sea to sea, an extent of 3000 miles, — 
" riding over the heads of proprietary lords" and other freehold- 
ers, " whose allotments, to the extent of 80 or 1 00 leagues upon 
the Atlantic coast, had been assigned to them in his Majesty's 
presence :" and that they had moreover clandestinely obtained 
a charter from the crown, without the council's approbation ; 
thereby cutting in pieces the original foundation of the building, 
forming a new superstructure, with novel ecclesiastical polity, and 
strange laws ; whipping and banishing offenders, — burning their 
houses over their heads; and in fact, claiming to be absolute 
masters of the country. 
Ttie f'lym- A decree, though entered against the charter was never 
cil surreii- carried into execution.* The Council had their last meeting. 
Charier. April 25, 1635, when only 16 members were present. They 
entered in their books, the causes of their proceedings, saying — 
"we have been bereaved of friends, oppressed with losses, expen- 
' ses, and troubles ; assailed before the Privy Council again and 
' again, with groundless charges ; and weakened by the French 
' and other foes without and within the realm, and what remains 
' is only a breathless carcase, we — therefore now resign the patent 
' to the king,-|- first reserving all grants by us made and all vested 
'rights ; — a patent we have holden about 15 years.' The king, 
in anticipation of this event had on the 28th of April, appointed 



* 1 Haz. Coll, p. 391—123, Hubbard's JV, E. p. ISO, 327, 272. Judgment 
was given that " the franchises should be seized into the kind's hands." But 
it was after this overlooked till May 3d, 1637 ; Holma' A. A. says, 1638, in 
p. 302, ^Tolc 4.— Sec the Pleadings,— 1 Haz. Cull. p. 23—5. 

f See this instrument of surrender, 1 Ilaz. Co/Z. 393 — 4, dated June 7, 
1635. See zdso Hutc/iin.'ions Coll. of State Papers, 101 — 4. 



Chap, iv.] of Maine. 259 

11 of his Privy Councilors, Lords Commissioners of all AtsA. D. 1635. 

American Plantations, and committed to them the general l/'.'sCom- 

superintendancc and direction ol" colonial affairs.* This Board of piama- 

presented Sir Ferdinando to the Crown, and procured for him poimed. 

a commission of Governor General over the whole of New- 
Sir F. Gor- 
England. Though sixty years of age, he was in full possession <^p<. Gov. 

of his energies, both of intellect and body, and emulous of the n. England. 

appointment. A man-of-war, was in preparation to bring him 

hither, which was to remain here for the defence of the country. 

But in launching, she turned on her side and was broken ; the 

enterprize thereby failed, and Sir Ferdinando never saw America. 

Immediately in train followed the death of John INIason, one „ , 

Ucalh of 

of his ablest coadjutors, — a gentleman whose exertions, merits *^ap'- Jo**" 
and knowledge of American affairs, had given his character a 
well-earned eminence, in the general estimation of English mer- 
chants and adventurers. f It was an event lamented more deep- 
ly by none other, than by Gorges himself. Mason had been 
governor of Newfoundland and Vice-President of the Ply- 
mouth Council ; and had rendered hiinself only obnoxious to the 
people of Massachusetts, in consequence of his endeavours with 
others, to procure a revocation of thtir chnrter.J A few days 
before his death, Nov. 26, he finished his will, by which he made 
a bequest of Masonia to his grandaughter, Anne Tvfton, and 
her heirs ; it being all the estate he claimed northward of Pis- 
cataqua. 

It is not ascertained, that more than two or three of Royal char- 
ters actually passed the seals, in confirmation of the twelve pa- 
tents, though four of them fell within the present State of IMaine, 
of which Gorges always exercised a provident care ; nor that any 
farther movements were made towards cslablishi.g a General 
Government, il c cvci.t ii; ul.ich, he had taken so much interest. § 

He now saw his misiakes anJ impolicy and endeavored to 

* : n. 7. V. ,\\. ]). :M 1—7 — llnl.barJ's .\. E. p. 2G4— 8. 

i 1 r>v!l . \. 11. p. CJJ-S . 

I " C'a; ( M -s. n [mys- Tl'inHiop'x Jiur p. till) u-::s llir cliicf mover ia 
all alt^ii>pts .ijaiiist iis" [at" .M.iss.AciiiJs^'tls ;J •• b.iL llic Lord in iiiuicy tak- 
ing' him awaj", all tlic business fell asleep." 

5 Gorg-es became quite cold after this, as lo Xew-England, " minding- 
onlj' his oicn division," or province. He told George Vaiighan, soon after 
this, that he intended to g'et " a patent of the king, from Piscataqiia to 
Sagadahock." — 1 Haz. Coll. p. 403. 



260 '^^^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A.D. 1635. account for his ill success. — ' We have (he says,) been endeavor- 
A view of ' ing to found plantations in a wilderness region, where men, bred 
plantations. ' up in a land of villages, farms and plenty, could hardly be hired 

* to stay ; or if induced to become residents, they must be fed in 
' idleness, from their master's crib, yet with few or no returns. 

* We have made the discoveries and opened the fields for others 
' to take the harvest. Trade, fishery, lumber, these have been 
' the phantoms of pursuit ; while there has been a criminal neglect 

* of husbandry, the guide to good habits, the true source of 
' wealth, and the almoner of human life.'* 

By dear experience, he found, that foreign plantations, control- 
ed by great corporations, three thousand miles distant, did exhibit 
a very unpromising growth ; and that the best concerted schemes 
of government, formed at the table of cold calculation, were alto- 
gether uncongenial to the genius and pursuits of a people in a 
new country. Far removed from the pageantry of wealth, titles 
and luxury, and from the hostilities of rivals and persecutors, 
they acquired at once a relish for a rural life and civil independ- 
ence. Among men, enterprizing enough to leave their native 
homes, all notions of quit-rents and lordships, necessarily vanish- 
ed before the plain maxims of fee-simple-estates, and the plainer 
rights of conscience and equality. As Chahners says, ' when 

* the restraints were removed, and men left free to manage their 

* affairs, in the way most agreeable to themselves ; the colonists 

* engaged in every laudable pursuit, and acquired an extent of 

* population, of commerce, of wealth and of power, unexampled 

* in the annals of the world. 'f 



* Gorges' Nar. p, 48, 49. f Chalmer's Annals, p. 96. 



Chap, v.] OF MAINE. 261 



CHAPTER V. 

The French in Canada and Acadia — Razilla, la Tour and D'Aul' 
ncij — Extent of their Claim — D'Anlnei/ seizes njwn Penobscot — 
Altrmpts to remove him — The French challenge a right as far as 
Pemaquid — New-Somersetshire, the province of Sir Ferdinando — 
JVilliain Gorges, Governor — Administration established at Saco — 
Eight Settlements in the jvcseiit State of 3Iainc — Population — 
Pcqnods destroyed — Emigration checked — Sir Ferdinando ap- 
pointed Gov. Gen. of New-England — His View of Colonial AJ- 
fairs — George Burdct's Character — He removes to Agamenticus — 
Civil Government needed in the Eastern Country — An Earth- 
quake. 

The French called all their dominions in Nordi-America, by-^-^- ^^"^ 

■' to 

the eeneral name of Kcw-Francc* This immense reeion, of . 'C3-5. 

" _ _ _ o ' American 

which Canada, Acadia, and Louisiana, were only component I'lench 

Kaz!ll;i, la 

parts, was granted in 1G27 to " the Company of New-France 5 T.mr, ami 
— a body of 107 associates, formed that year by Cardinal Rich- 
elieu. f By transporting labourers from time to time, into Can- 
ada, furnished with outfits of three years' necessaries, and by 
assigning to them lands and seeds enough to sow them, his pro- 
ject was, to augment the population of that province, within 1 5 
years, to 16,000 souls. But this was only a statesman's dream j 
for a war with England soon happening, and other events inter- 
posing, entirely dissipated the vision. 

Acadia, or Nova Scotia, | was still under the military command 

* John Verazzani, a Florentine adventurer, in the service of the French 
kin^, who ranged the coast from Florida to Newfoundlartd, A. D. 1524, first 
gave it the name. He landed and took possession cf Acadia, where the 
Indians killed him, and some say, ate him.— 40 Universal History, p. 20. 

t Jc fry's Hist. p. 101.— The Company of New-France, granted to la 
Tour, in 16:55, the lands at St. John's river,- being the third grant, or title, 
he had of the same territory.— 1st, From the French king; and 2d. from 
Sir William Alexander. The Company had been restored to their rights, 
A. D. 1633.— Be/fc. Biog. p. 344. 

INovaScotia, called Acadia, is commonly accounted a part of New- 
France, which lieth on the south side of the river Canada.— Jo/in Ogilby't 
JVew World, p. 133. 



262 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1635 of General Razilla,* whose residence was principally in the for- I 
tress at La Heve, though his own patent adjoined St. Croix. 
A subordinate command of the country, eastward of this river, 
he had given to la Tour ; and of that westward, as far as the 
French claimed, he had appointed M. d'Aulney commander. 
The Frer.di Razilla seemed to possess a nobleness of character; yet the 
uielT' ^^" manner of his seizing upon the Acadian province, or rather per- 
mitting some places occupied by the English to be plundered, 
gave them great and just offence. It is true, the third article in 
the treaty of St. Germains, was so artfully expressed, as to pro- 
vide for resigning Acadia, which had no certain limits, instead 
of Nova Scotia, whose boundaries were well defined. It was an 
advantage, however, in which, it seems, the French themselves 
had not at first any great confidence. For surely^they must have 
been sensible, that Nova Scotia, by name, was the country in- 
tended to be surrendered, — or why had they delayed to extend 
their claim? — ^Why pillage the trading-house at Penobscot, three 
years past, and that at Machias not till a year afterwards ? — unless 
it were to ascertain if such flagrant acts would be resented ? — 
No doubt, it must have been in consequence of a conviction they 
had done wrong, and had very questionable rights, thattliey per- 
mitted the New-Plymouth colonists to resume the occupancy of 
the former place, and quietly to hold it till the present time. 
D'Aulney But Razilla, perceiving no public resentments expressed at 
scot. the outrage, and probably informed of the late territorial assign- 

ment to lord Sterling, despatched d' Aulney, this summer (1635) 
in a man-of-war, to take possession of the country. The vehe- 
ment temper and base cupidity of this man, prompted him at 
once, to rifle the trading-house at Biguyduce (Penobscot), of 
all its contents in a piratical manner ; sending away the traders 
and their servants wnth no better consolation, than a mere sched- 
ule of the goods plundered, accompanied with boastful threats : 
— Go now ' said he,' and tell all the plantations southward to the 
40th degree, that a fleet of eight ships will be sent against them, 
within a year, to displace the whole of them ; and know, that 
" my commission is from the King of France." 

To avenge the wrong and drive the French from Penobscot, 
Capt. Girling, master of the Hope, a large ship hired at Ipswich, 



* Called also « Rosillon," « Razilly."— 1 Huich. Hut.^^. 121. 



Chap, v.] of Maine. , 262 

by the New-Plymouth colonists for the purpose, and joined by a. d, 1635 
their own barque, was employed and sent thither, to whom they 
agreed to give £200, if he succeeded in regaining possession.* 
The enemy, 1 8 in number, having heard of tlie enterprize, had 
so securely fortified themselves, that though Girling vigorously 
prosecuted the attack, till his ammunition failed, he was unable 
to force a surrender. f 

All the English colonists deprecated every approaching move- E. Coion'.st 
ment of the French. Their Romish religion, their love of arbi- irtuich. 
trary principles, their connexions with the natives, their arrogant 
menaces, and predatory excursions, severally made their local 
nearness both dreaded and lamented. Massachusetts in particu- 
lar, resolved to render New-Plymouth every assistance, and 
make the expulsion of the French from Penobscot a common 
cause. She consulted with Capt. Sellanova, a gentleman of 
great military experience,! ^^^ immediately made preparations 
for an expedition thither : but it was entirely defeated by an un- 
common storm and hurricane, which did such immense damage, 
in the fields and elsewhere, that provisions for one hundred men, 
could not be procured without great difficulty. 

Afterwards the French treated the colonists with more forbear- 
ance and kindness. § A crew of Connecticut mariners, for in- 
stance, being wrecked on the Isle of Sables, received from them 
many testimonies of humanity, and were even transported to 
La Heve, the residence of Razilla ; from which place, he gave 
four of them a passage to France, and furnished the others with a 
shallop to convey themselves home. These generous acts were 
in the last days of his life — happily monumental of his worth 
and clemency. II 

D'Aulney was very much annoyed by Girling's vessels, still 
moored before his slender fortress ; and as soon astlie unfortunate 
mariners, arrived there, from La Heve, he told them he should 
detain them till Girling departed. The stratagem succeeded jIT 
and when he dismissed them, he addressed a letter full of civil- 
ities to the Governor of New-Plymouth ; and subsequently, both 
he and la Tour, solemnly declared that they should never, without 

♦ VVinthrop's Jour. p. 87. f Hubbard's N. E. p 162. 

J Massachusetts Rcc. p. 115. 5 Hubbard's N. E. p. 164. 

11 I Huldimso>i''s Jlist. p. 122.— Winlhrop p. C'J calls liim " AIous. Com- 
mander of Rosclle." ^ Winf'iropV JourDal p. 89. 



264 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1635. further orders, claim any lands westward of Pemaquid.* It is 
French certain, however, that the French had, at no time, any territorial 

claim to . . •' , 

Pemaquid. possessions wcstward of Penobscot river and bay, — waters which 
were for many years the divisional boundaries between them and 
the English. -j- 
iVovince of ^ ^'®^^ ^^ these limits, thus prescribed by the French them- 
N. Soiner- gelves to their claims, misht well eive encouragement to the 
w. Gorges, bold and persevering spirit of Gorges. J By his first patent and 
the late assignment received of the Plymouth Council, April 22d, 
he obtained an " absolute property" in the territory, between 
Piscataqua and Sagadahock, or the two divisions in conjunction, 
called JYew Somersetshire ; and supposed he acquired also all 
the political or jurisdictional powers of government, which that 
Company possessed, before their dissolution. Hence, to organ- 
ize and establish an administration of justice, he sent over, in the 
year 1635 or 6, his nephew William Gorges, in the capacity of 
governor ; a man of sense and intelligence, equal to the impor- 
tance of the trust. It would seem, he entered upon the duties of 
his office at Saco. This was the most flourishing, and probably 
the oldest, settlement in the Province. It had now enjoyed a 
form of government several years ; which might originally have 
been a social compact or voluntary combination, for mutual safety 
and convenience. In the mean time Richard Vines had officiat- 
ed as governor, and Richard Bonython, as assistant. § Thirty 
pounds were raised, the present year, by way of a tax for the 
support of public worship ; and the inhabitants, assessed to pay 
it, were twenty-one. From these circumstances we may deduce 
by an usual calculation, that the whole number of souls in the 
settlement was about 150 or 60. |[ 

* Mr. Winslow, Gov. of N. P. went lo England to complain ag-ainst the 
encroachments of the French and Dutch; where Bp. Land imprisoned 
him 4 months, because he was a Puritan. — Sullivan, y>- 284. — He went 
ag-ain in 1646. 

t The French continued in possession of Penobscot till A, D. 1664. 
I Hutch. Hist. p. 49. 

I Gorges granted to G. Cleaves and Ri. Tucker, Jan. 27, 1637, bj' deed 
a large tract of 1,500 acres and more, on the northern part of the pen- 
insula from Fore river, at the point near tlie ferry, toPurpooduck, extending 
thence to the Capisick river, S. E. of tlie mouth of Stroudwater. 

}lBelk. N. H. p. 291. 

II Sullivan, p. 219, 306, gives the names of the men taxed, Bonython 
Vines, and Thomas Lewis were taxed £,Z each ; Bead, Waldron and Wil- 



Chap, v.] of Maine 265 

Gorges, the Governor, commenced his administration at the a. D. ig36. 
dwellinghouse of IMr. Bonython, situated not far from the shore, on Gen. Court 
the east side of the river. Here he opened a court, March 28th, 
present, Richard Bonython, Thomas Commock, Henry Joscelyn, 
Thomas Purchas, Edward Godfrey and Thomas Lewis, com- 
missioners ; who arraigned, tried and punished, or fined, for divers 
offences ; and if Gorges were exercising a power as extensive 
as his jurisdiction, every wrongdoer between Piscataqua and Sag- 
adahock was amenable to this tribunal :* — It being the first or- 
ganized government^ established within the present State of 
JMaine.-f The com-t held sessions two or three years. 

The Governor, in the dischar2;e of his cfFicial duties, found p"'<'""'n's 
it necessary to look into the concerns and condiiions of the sever- J'"'j"^''''q"a 
al settlements in the Province ; which, including the one at Saco, George, 
consisted of ^ye. — \. Agamenticus, a place of Sir Ferdinando's 
particular patronage, originally settled by husbandmen and arti- 
sans, 12 or 13 years before, had assumed the appearance of pros- 
perity, with a slow but gradual increase of inhabitants. — II. The 
Piscataqua settlements, or plantation, consisting of families scat- 
tered from Kittery-point to Nevvichawannock, and the northern 
Isles of Shoals, were variously employed, though principally in 
the fisheries and the lumber business. These were first under 
the superintendence of Waher Neal, then Francis Williams, till 
the arrival of William Gorges. — III. Black-point settlement, begun 

liams £2 each, tlic others £l each. Oldham, one of the original paten- 
tees never dwelt there. Sullivan says, "several persons were fined for 
dninkenness and others punished for other immoralities." — If a "Court 
was holden under authority of the Province of Lygonia," as York Records 
seem to indicate, is it not probable, that VVilliani Gorg^es was entrusted 
with that patent? 

* Chalmers, p. 472—3. John Joscehjn's Voyages, 200. — At the head of the 
Pool, or Leighton's point, it is said a Courf house stood at a very early 
period. 

•j-The Court was continued for several days. — T. Williams was bound in 
the sum of £lOO, with sureties to answer to tJie suit of Mr. T, Lewis, at the 
next General Court, and a sufficient jury of this Province returned to try 
the same. There were several actions, — Mrs. Joan Vines vs. Bonyt 
hon and Lewis, about planting corn; — W. Fcadlock v. M. Howel, debt; 
T. Pagcu. J. Richmond, Trespass; and there were orders passed against 
drunkenness ; against mischievous Indians, <^-c. — Folsoin's Saco and Biddt' 
ford, p. 49—52. 

Vol. I. 21 



266 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A D. 1636. about 6 or 7 years before, by Thomas Commock, Henry Joscelyn* 
and Mr. Gaines, consisted of several houses, and included Strat- 
ton's Islands. — IV. The Lygonian plantation, which embraced 
Richmond's Island and most of the patent to Robert Trelawney 
and Moses Goodyeare,f undertaken here six years previously 
and deserted the succeeding summer, by most or all of the plan- 
ters under the " Plough-patent," had not thriven. The inhabit- 
ants consisted principally of fishermen, hunters, and traders, 
whose dwelling-places are understood to have been at Spurwink, 
at Purpooduck, and on the peninsula, collectively called at the 
time, Casco. Thomas Bradbury and George Cleaves had agen- 
cies under Gorges, in 1636-7 ; and John Winter, as early as 
1631, was the activ'e agent here for Trelawney and Goodyeare.J 
— V. The Pejepscot settlements, originating in the enterprize of 
Thomas Purchas and George Way, who established their resi- 
dence at the head of Stevens' river, A. D. 1624-5, consisted at 
this time of very few habitations. They claimed on both sides 
of the Androscoggin, to the falls ; southwardly to Maquoit ; also 
the Merryconeag peninsula, Sebascodegan, and other Islands,^ 
upon which there might possibly have been several stages for fish- 
ermen. — VI. The people residing within the Kcnnebeck patent, 
were under the jurisdiction of New-Plymouth. || 

It is convenient furthermore to mention in this place, some par- 
ticulars of the settlements eastward, as far as Penobscot. 1. 



* Hubbard's .y E. p. 224. — Commock was here early in 1633. — Haz- 
Co//, p. 31 S — Kis grant, as it appears to Iiave been laid out by Walter 
Neal, alt'y, to the P. Council, A. D. 1624, and recorded in York Re- 
cords, contained 1,500 acres, — confirmed by Sir. F. Gorges. — Book of 
Claims, p. 59. 

■f Tlic patent to Trelawney and Goodycare, dated Dec. 1, 1631, embraced 
a tract between Spiirv\ink and Casco, or Presumpscot rivers; also, Rich- 
mond's Island ; John Winter, their agent, being' put in possession of the 
patent in 1632. George Cleaves and Richard Tucker, who had resided at 
Spurwink two 3-ears, being expelled by Winter, removed to the peninsula. 

I Sullivan, Y>. 303-11. — //wi. JS'/r. p. 294. — " The patentees took in as 
a partner, Mr. Richard Dummer, of INewbiirj-, New-England, in 163S. 

^ The deed of Warumbee and five other Sagamores, July 7, 1684, says, 
"Thomas Purchas came into this country near sixty years before, and 
took possession of lands from the falls to Maquoit." — Slatcmcnt of Kcnne- 
beck Claims, p. 9. — It would seem, Purchas at length became sole proprie- 
tor. 

II The people being few and sparse on this patent, were never represent- 
ed in the General Court, at New-Plymouth. — Sttllivan, p. 142. 



Chap, v.] OF MAINE. 267 

Within the ' Sagadahock territory^ were those upon the Islands — A. D. 1C36. 
upon the river Sheepscot — upon IMasonia and about Cape-Newa- 
gen.* These contained 50 or 60 famih'es. 2. Tlie Pemaquid 
plantation had been in a flourishing condition, ever since the pa- 
tent was granted, A. D. 1631. Monhcgan, Damariscove and 
Hippocras,f appear to be appendages of it, and their inhab- 
itants amenable to its government. About the year 1633, and 
also 1650, Thomas Eibridge, a son of the proprietor, held courts 
at Pemaquid fort ; sitting in judgment upon wrongdoers and im- 
posing fines and penalties. J In his absence, Abraham Shurte 
officiated as agent and chief magistrate of the plantation more 
than thirty years. § 3. There were a few settlers at the river 
St. George, and upon George's Islands, within the Muscongus 
patent ; though they consisted principally of fishermen. 

If there were, in 1630, as one author has stated, " 84 families, „ i 
besides fishermen, about Sheepscot, Pemaquid, and St. Georges, || 
the whole number of white people at the present time, between 
Piscataqiia and Penobscot, must have exceeded fourteen hun- 
dred. IT 

The continuance of William Gorges in New-Somersetshire w'r.or^es' 
was short, — probably less than two years; for, in July, A. D. i,',' 
1637, the authorities of JNIassachusetts were presented with the 
transcript of a commission from Sir Ferdinando to them ; by 
which six gentlemen therein named, were appointed to take into 
their hands the government of the Province and the superinten- 

* Mason's will slates Masonia to be near " Caphan of Wagg'an." — 1 Haz. 
Colt. p. 3S5, 398. — or Cape-Ne-wagcn. 

] Hub. jYar. p. 230. — Monhejan and Damariscove are probably tlie Isl- 
ands intended in the Lygonia patent, [Sullivan, p. 310,] thoutjh appendant 
to Pemaquid patent. 

I In 1659, Elbridg^e broujlit two actions in Yorkshire Court, against 
George Cleaves, of Falmouth. 

!) Ante, A. D. 1631. || Sullivan, p. 167, 391, 

IT That is, allow 6 to a familj-, or to a freeholder; Souh. 

Piscataqua settlements, [41 sii^ned the compact in 1640] at present, 200 
Agamenticus " [incorporated, A. D. 1639,] 150 

Saco, including Black-point, 173 

Casco, or Lygonia patent, and Pcjepscot, 75 

Kennebeck patent, 100 

Sagadahock, Sheepscot, Pemaquid, St, Georges, and Islands 500 

Isles of Shoals and other places, 200 

Possibly the whole number might be 1500. 1400 



I •■(111 II 
we. 



268 THE HISTORY fVoL. I. 

A. D. 1G37. (lence of his private affairs. Tliis was an extraordinary trust ; 
and as one of the commissioners had removed to Connecticut, 
and the name of another was incorrect, the residue dechned an 
acceptance of the agency.* 
Affrantto ^^^' fcrdinando, whoso mind was ever fruitful in expedients, 
Edffc"omb ^^^'°^6 to raise his Province into dislinction hy maldng sundry 
grants to gentlemen of rank and influence. One was, July 3d, 
to Sir Richai'd Edgecomb, of 8,000 acres, near the lake of New- 
Somerset, [probably Merrymeeting-bay] in the present Bowdoin- 
ham. He also encouraged gentlemen of enterprize and em- 
inence to visit the country. Still he was forcibly convinced, that 
the growth of his own Province was surpassed by all its colonial 
neighbors, not excepting New-Hampshire. For in the present 
year, Massachusetts, New-Plymouth and Connecticut, by unity of 
measures and a conjunction of forces, were able to crush entirely, 
The Pe- One of the most numerous and powerful tribes of Indians in New- 
destroyed. England. These were the Pequots ; of whom 700 warriors 
and 13 Sachems were slain. One cause of this war was the 
murder of John Oldham, a patentee of Saco. 
fhecked'by The increase and prosperity of the colonies, and the uncom- 
ihecrovvni j-^^^^-^ ts-Qubles in church and state through the kingdom, served 
to fan the enkindled ardor of emigration, to a degree of en- 
thusiasm. f The subject arrested the attention of the king ; 
and he, again interposing, ordained that none of his subjects 
should leave the realm, till they had taken the oaths of supremacy 
and allegiance, and engaged to observe the rules of Episcopal 
discipline. Nay, he gave orders, that no colonist should enter- 
tain a stranger, nor admit him to be an house-hold-tenant, with- 
out license from the crown :J and it was only through the im- 
portunate petitions of merchants, passengers and owners of ships 
ready for sea, that he and the Privy Council could be persuaded, 



* fVinthrop's Journal, p. 132. — IlitbbanPs J\\ E. p. 2C1-2. — Tlie orig- 
jnal, with tlia f.ijn inanunl and privy seal, was not taken from the ofiice, 
tecause the fees v/ere not paid. 

■fin 10 years about 21,200 had come over. — 1 Holmes'' A. Ann. p. 295,-^ 
Even Oliver Crointcell had resolved to retire to this country. — 1 Hume, p, 
425. 

J CAa/mer*, 162 — b.— lBidk.Bing. p. 3S5. — All officers and niinistcrs, 
were required to return to the L'ds. Com. of Plantations every half year, 
the names and qualities of the emig-rants. — 1 Ilnz. Coll. 421. — In som^ of 
the vcEsels, came John Joscchjn^ author cf tho Voyages, &c. 



Ch^P. v.] of MAINE. 269 

so far to mitigate the severity of the prohibition, as to allow the A.D. I638, 
contemplated voyages to be made. 

The ears of the ministry were ever open to complaints against 'p'-^^^f^"^ 
the colonists. They being puritans, were represented to be a J j."J^, ^'^"•• 
people of factious disposition, unworthy of confidence, and par- l^'igi-'>"d- 
tial to a government of turbulent rulers : and therefore, his Ma- 
jesty issued a new order for the institution of a general Gov- 
ernment, and appointed Sir Ferdinando, Governor. But as the 
charter of Massachusetts was still an insurmountable obstacle in 
the way of its establishment, the king commanded the colony 
authorities to surrender it, or they must expect a total dissolution 
of the corporation.* 

In reply, they lamented their sufferings, occasioned as they 
thought, wholly by suspicions which always paint in the darkest 
colours, and prayed his Majesty for that protection, which blesses 
him that gives, and them that receive ; saying, ' if our charter 

* be taken away, and we dissolved, we must leave our habitations 

* for some other place, and the whole country will fall into the 
' possession of the French on the one hand, or the Dutch on 

* the other. 'f 

No other argument, or agreement, could have struck Gorges 
with equal force. He knew the Massachusetts government was co'iom'ar *" 
the principal barrier against the encroachments of the French. "''^'"• 
To weaken it, would encourage the pretensions of d' Aulney ; 
and Gorges might reasonably entertain apprehensions of a seizure 
upon his own Province. A large number had, in fact, removed 
from the vicinity of Boston to Connecticut river j and others, 
tired of accusations and strife, were thinking it no great sacrifice 
to make a removal from a severe climate, to a more southern 
temperature. Hence the Governor-General saw, that the only 
revenues to be derived from a farther prosecution of his favour- 
ite scheme, must necessarily be die resentments and ill-will of 
the colonists, towards him and his agents ; and from his nephew, 
then with him, he had sufiicient knowledge, that the bad pos- 
ture of his own American affairs, was occasioned partly, if not 
principally, by the impolicy and unpopularity of his measures. 

* 1 Ilaz. Coll. 4^2—5, 403—4, 352—3, 

■ft Ilaz. Coil. p. 452— 5.— 135 -G.— I Htitcliinson's Hist. p. 8'j. -App. 
p, 442—4. 



270 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1(138. At home, the contests of the royalists, of whom he was a zeal- 
ous one, and the revolutionists, who were daily increasing in 
strength and numbers, were assuming a magnitude, great enough 
to divert the public attention from all remoter interests ; and 
when Archbishop Laud* and other arbitrary ministers at length 
lost their influence. Gorges confined his ambition to the single 
object of procuring a royal charter, the best he could obtain, 
for the government of his Province. 
Q^^j.^ At this time, appeared in his plantation at Agamenticus, one 

Burdei. George Burdet, in the character of a clergyman, who had been 
a preacher at Yarmouth in England. A controversy with the 
bishops about ceremonies, had, as he pretended, driven him, a per- 
secuted man to this country. He arrived at Salem, in 1634, 
where he preached a year or more, and joined the church ; and 
upon taking the oath of fidelity, was admitted a freeman of the 
colony. His natural abilities were good, his manners specious, 
and his scholarship mucii above mediocrity. His next removal 
was to the upper plantation in New-Hampshire, where, by artful 
management, he had the success, in 1636, to supplant Thomas 
Wiggin, the Governor, and obtain the office himself. To ingra- 
tiate himself into the favour of Laud, who was a foe universally 
obnoxious to the colonists, though at that time a most influential 
member of the Privy Council ; Burdet addressed to him a secret 
letter, a copy of which was accidentally found, wherein he load- 
ed Massachusetts with the most illiberal reproaches. ' She is not 

* merely,' said he, ' aiming at new disciphne, but sovereignty ; — 

* for, even her General Court account it perjury and treason to 

* speak of appeals to the king.' — In reward for this he had the 
thanks of the haughty prelate, who also assured him, as soon as a 
press of other matters would permit, the errors and disorders 
should be rectified. f 

The traits of Burdet's character, were now, without loss of 
time, exposed in just but odious colors, by an official letter 
from Boston to his neighbors, | which rendered him obnoxious to 
the severest obloquy ; and hence he made a precipitate retreat to 
Agamenticus. Such was the destiny of this happy place, which 

* Laud was beheaded, A. D. 1645. — 5 Hume, p. 16S. 

■\ Winthrop's Journal, p. 176-7. — 1 Hutchinson's Hist. p. 85. 

J 1 Hubbard's IS. E. p. 351.— 1 Belk. N. H. p. S3. 



Chap, v.] of Maine. 271 

had enjoyed the instructions of the "pious and learned" ]\Ir. A. D. ig38. 
Thompson.* Burdet, finding himself unable to wipe ofi' asper- 
sions, was presently guilty of lewdness, falsehoods, and intrigues, 
which not only debased him in general estimation, but exposed 
him to the penalties of law. 

As a country without government or law, becomes the open civil Gov- 
receptacle of base men, the emulation of the virtuous is abated ;fi"cc!eii. 
for their rights are justly considered to be insecure. Full of 
these discouragements, New-Hampshire, New^-Somersetshire, and 
the people " farther east,"f had now* formed resolutions of ap- 
plying to iMassachusetts, though a government less than ten years 
of age, to receive them within her jurisdiction. Nothing was 
more desired or needed than consistency, strength and system in 
the administration ol the people's civil affairs. 

But before we close the annals of this year, an event which EanhquAke 
rendered it memorable ought not to be passed without notice. 
This was the " Great Earthquake," which happened June 1st, 
between the hours of 3 and 4 in the afternoon. At the time, the 
weather was clear and warm, and the wind westward. It com- 
menced with a noise like continued thunder, or the rattling of 
stage coaches upon pavements, and with a motion so violent, that 
people in some jilaces found difficulty in standing on their feet ; 
and some chimneys, and man}- light moveables in dweliinghouses 
were thrown down. The sound and motion continued about four 
minutes, and the earth was unquiet at times, for 20 days after- 
wards. It was generally felt throughout New-England, and the 
course of it was from west to east. J 

* Winlhrop's Jour. p. 195.— Hubbard's N. E. j). 276. 
f 1 Hutchinson's Hist. p. 83. 

I Tliis is mentioned by all tlie older u-riteri.— rr/;i//i?-op'j Jour. p. ]5j, 
170.— 1 Brit. Emp. in A. p. 276 Also 1 Ilulch. nisi. p. 88. 



275i THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Gorges' Charter of the Province of 3IrHnc — Its extent, parsers and 
privileges — Isles of Shoa's — The si/ston of government by Gor- 
gcs — His officers and regulations — Courts — Offenders punished 
— Bounties for wolves— Tico Counties, York and S:)>nerset — Bap- 
tism enjoined — Piscataqua people combine — Political changes — 
Agamcnticus, a borough — Raised to a city — Georgenna — Its cor- 
porate poivcrs — New-Hampshire unites with Massachusetts — 
Pejepscot — Larlcham aid Gibson disagree — Isles of Shoals revolt 
— WarwicJt and Plantation Commissioners — Union of four Colo- 
nies — Wells settled — Wheelwright restored to favor — Lygonia 
^iurchased by Sir A. Rigby — Cleaves, his Governor opposed 
by Vines — The dispute — Referred to Massachusetts — Righy's 
charactei — Commissioners decide in his favor — His government 
by Cleaves — Civil afairs in Maine — Kittery established — 
Death and character of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. 
A.D. if>39. At length. Sir Ferdinando Gorees obtained of kinsr Charles 

April 3, =" ' . * ... 

Charter I. a Provincial Charter, possessing uncommon powers and privi- 
leges. It bears date, April 3, 1639. The territory, it embraces, 
begins, in the description given, at the mouth of the Piscataqua, 
and extends up that river and through Nevvichawannock and 
Salmon-Fall river, " north-westwards one hundred and twenty 
miles ;" from Piscataqua harbor " north-eastwards along the 
sea-coast to the Sagadahock ;" thence through that river and the 
Kennebeck, "north-westward, one hundred and twenty miles;" 
and thence over land to the utmost northerly end of the line first 
mentioned ; including the north half of the Isles of Shoals and 
the Islands " Capawock and Nautican* near Cape Cod ;" also 
" all the Islands and inlets within five leagues of the main, along 

* Perhaps Martha's Vineyard and JS'anlucktt ; But neither Sir Ferdi- 
nando, his. heirs, or assigns ever took any thing' by this part of the charter. 
He immediately g-ave public notice, " that if any would undertake by him- 
self and associates to transport a competent number of inhabitants to plant 
in any of his limits, he would assign unto him, or them, such a proportion 
of lands, as should in reason satisfy them, reserving only to himself a small 
quit-rent, as 2s. or 2s. 6d. for lOO acres per annum." — Gorges'* ^Nar. 
p. 46. 



OF Maine. 



Chap, vi.] of maine. 273 

the coasts between the said rivers Piscataqua and Sagada- a. d. 11339. 
hock." 

By the charter, this territory and the inhabitants upon it were ,, 
incorporated into a body politic, and named The Province or tenure. 
County of ■Maine. Sir Ferdinando, his heirs and assigns 
werepnadc absolute Lords Proprietors of the Province, excepting 
the supreme dominion, faith and allegiance, due to the crown, ' 
and a right to exact yearly a quarter of wheat, and a fifth of the 
profits arising from " pearl fishings," and from gold and silver 
mines. 

The articles of faith, and forms of ecclesiastical government, 
used by the Church of England were established ; and to the 
proprietary was given the patronage of all churches and chapels, 
and the right of dedicating them according to Episcopal usages. 

In concurrence with a majority of tiie freeholders, or their Govem- 
representativcs, assembled in Zeo-w/fl^io?/, the proprietor was au-""^"* 
thorized to establish any laws or orders which the public good 
required — extending for sufficient cause to life or member, and 
conforming as far as practicable to those of England. Likewise 
to him as proprietary Governor belonged the power to erect 
Courts of justice, civil and ecclesiastical, for determining all 
manner of causes by sea or land ; to appoint judges, justices, 
magistrates and their officers, and to displace them ; to prescribe 
their respective jurisdictions; and to frame the oaths to be taken 
by officers and by witnesses. Also to him or his deputy, appeals 
were generally allowed in all cases whatsoever, which could, in 
England, be carried before the king. 

The executive poivcrs of the Lord Proprietor, or Deputy-Gover- 
nor, were plenary. He had the appointment of all executive, 
military, and ministerial officers, " lifctenants" and deputies ; tlie 
pardon of all oftenders and ofl:enccs, and the execution of the 
laws. To provide suitably for emergencies, when " assemblies of 
freeholders for making laws" could not be convened, he had 
power by his deputy or magistrates, to establish all fit and whole- 
some resolutions and orders, provided they did not extend to any 
person's lile, freehold, or chattels. Whereas the Province, in the 
language of the charter, " is seated among many barbarous na- 
tions," and has been sometimes invaded by them, by pirates, and 
Vol. I. 22 



274 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1639. Others ; it ordained that the lord proprietor be invested with the 
Military af- amplest authority to arm all his provincials in defence, and to 
fortify, resist, conquer, and recapture in all cases, according to his 
pleasure and the laws of war : and also amidst all hostilities or 
tumults, to execute martial law, as fully as any ot the king's 
captain-generals could do within the realm. He had a right to 
build, or establish as many cuies, boroughs, and towns as he chose, 
— to grant them charters of incorporation, appoint markets, and 
prescribe tolls. He likewise of right designated the ports of 
entry, rated and took to himself the duties on imports, and yet 
his provincials were only to pay in England, on their exports 
thither, the same customs paid by natural born citizens of the 
realm. 
Fishery. ^^n English subjects had free privilege to take fish in any 

waters of the Province, and to dry them and the nets upon the 
shores of woodlands and wastes, provided no damage be done 
to the inhabitants. 

To the Lord Proprietor belonged all waifs, wrecks, escheats, 
and the estates of pirates and felons, whenever liable to seizure 
or forfeiture ; also Admiralty jurisdiction ; so that all maritime 
Admiralty, causcs arising within tlie Province, or within 20 leagues of it, 
were subject to his adjudication, under the paramount authority 
of the English Lord High Admiral. An exclusive trade was 
given and secured to him and the inhabitants within the Prov- 
ince ; the charter making every transgressor, or intruder, subject 
to the king's indignation, and to the penalties prescribed by the 
Provincial laws. 
Civil Divis- Moreover he had a right, as proprietor, to divide his Province 
into counties, cities, towns, parishes and hundreds ; to appro- 
priate lands for public uses; and to erect territorial tracts "into 
several and distinct manors,''^ with appurtenant demesne lands, 
rents and services, Court-leets, and Courts-baron, according to 
usage within the realm. 

For the purpose of planting and fortifying "the Province of 
Maine," Sir Ferdinando, his heirs and assigns were expressly 
allowed to transport hither any " men, women and children" 
not prohibited by proclamation ; any vessels and munitions of 
wai-^ provisions and victuals, provided none should have the 



ions 



Chap, vi.] OF iMAlNE. 275 

rights of freehold, trade or residence there, without the Lord Pro- a. d )639 
prietor's express, or tacit permission. 

To all the people horn in the Provi.ice, whether of English, Pii^ii'g-'^s. 
Scotch or Irish parentage, were secured the ri^l.ts of citizen- 
ship, as extensively as il they were the natural born subjects of 
the realm. But all the provinci:ils, both ciiizens and residents, 
were required to take the oath of allegiance to the crown, as 
though they dwelt in England. Every freeholder or tenant was 
to hold his lands of Sir Ferdinando. his heirs or assigns, as 
paramount lord of the soil ; though entitled to enjoy all pre- 
vious grants with the appurtenant rights and liberties, upon the 
relinquishment of his jura regalia, if any, and the payment of 
some small pittance as an acknowledgement of the tenure. 

All the admirals, generals, justices, sheriffs, constables, and 
other officers of the crown, were commanded to aid the Proprie- 
tor, his heirs and agents, at all times, when requested, upon the 
peril of incurring the royal displeasure. Indeed, his proprietor- 
ship, thus chartered, was little less than an absolute sovereignty ; he 
being merely subordinate to the crown and to the Lords Commis- 
sioners of Foreign Plantations, as a subject of the realm. 

In fine — it was ordained, in and by these Letters Patent, that 
upon their enrolment they should be forever effectual in law Conrlusion. 
throughout the British Dominions ; that they should be con- 
strued according to their true meaning and intent — " most be- 
nignly, favorably, and beneficially" for the proprietor and his 
heirs ; that no word or sentence should be interpreted, in preju- 
dice, to the word of God, the true christian religion taught, 
or laws established in the kingdom ; and that all explications, 
when needed, should be made by the king's attorney-general. 

This is a short outline of Gorges' memorable charter of the 
Province o( Elaine :* — a charter which contains more extensive 
powers and privileges, than were ever granted by the crown to 
any other individual : and in short, if we except the establish- 
ment of a sectarian religion, we may pronounce it a very masterly 
chart, as dralted for a colonial government. 

The extent of the Province northward, was to the mouth of Dead 



* This charter, entire and at great length, is in 1 Haz. Coll. p. 442— 

445 : also in Sullitan'a -^PP- P- 307—408. 



276 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D, 1639. river, and northwestward to Umbagog Lake; and the territory 

Norihern mi^ht be equal to a sixth part of the present State of Maine.* 
extent. '' '^ ^ ^ 

The charter embraced five of the celebrated Isles of Shoals ; 

Isles of viz. Hayley^s, or Smutty-nose Island, Hog, Duck, Cedar, and 

or Smith's Malaga Islands. Clark's, or Naw Island, farther north, proper- 
isles. "" . " . 

ly belonged to ]\Iaine, but not to the cluster. — Those united to 

New-Hampshire are Star, White, and Londoner''s Islands. The 
whole number may contain 600 acres. f Though rocky, bleak, 
and greatly exposed to winter severities, they have a cool re- 
freshing atmosphere in summer — always healthful, and none 
upon the coast vvere oftener noticed. To the eye of curiosity, they 
exhibit in some places, appearances of rock broken off and sepa- 
rated from the rest of the Island ; in others, frightful chasms, 
several yards wide and tv/enty, or even thirty feet deep, J evidently 
occasioned by some violent concussion or earthquake. Through 
the cracks, or channels, the water at flood-tides, and in storms, 
rushes in great torrents. These Islands, after the visit of the 
famous John Smith, in 1 614, were called "Smith's Isles," till 
they acquired the present name. The peculiar advantages for 
fishery, which they presented, gave them celebrity and value, 
and were the efficient and principal causes of the early settle- 
ments upon them. The character and habits of the original 
Islanders,^ for industry, intelligence and pure morals, have 
acquired for them great respect in the estimation of posterity. 
Among the early residents, were Mr. William Pepperell, and Mr. 
Gibbons, who carried on the fisheries two years, very extensively ; 
being men of great enterprize and considerable distinction. j| On 



* Erroneously supposed afterwards to contain 9,600 square miles. — Brit. 
Dom. in Jl. p. 117. — it embraced tico of the 12 divisions ; the northerly 
boundary of JVew-Somersetshirc being' the Androscog-g-in river. 

t They lie 9 miles S. E. of Portsmouth lig-ht-house, N. Lat. 41° 50'. The 
harbor is at Hayley's Island, which opens to the S. W. — Seo Introduclion, 
p. 23, also, post, 1661. 

I In one of these, viz. Star Island, is " Betty Moody's hole," where she 
secreted herself, at a time when the Indians carried away " many female 
captives," — probably in king Philij)'s war. 

5 The Islands were settled early. " The deed given by the Indian Sag- 
amores to John Wheelwright and others, A. D. 1G29, includes the Isles of 
Shoals." 

II Pepperell was an ancestor of Sir William, an<i settled in Kiltery. Gib- 
bons was from Topsham, in England, and obtained a grant out of the Mus- 
congus patent. They left the Island at the same time, and went the 



Chap, vi.] OF MAINE. 277 

Hog Island a meeting-house was built at a very early period, pos- a. d. ic39. 
siblythe first in the Province ; and about A. D. 1G40, we find the 
Islanders were attendants upon the ministry ol the Rev. Mr. Hull. 
There were originally ' between 20 and 30 families on that 
' Island.' They once "had a court-house on Hayley's Island ;" 
and in so prosperous a state were these Islands, that they contain- 
ed " from four to six hundred souls." Even gentlemen from Population, 
some " oi the principal towns on the seacoast, sent their sons here 
" for literary instruction."* 

The charter might well afford the greatest satisfaction to the 
mind of Gorges ; for it contained all the territories, all the pow- 
ers, and all the provisions, he desired. The provincial name o/\vi,y ii,is 
Maine, though one by which this section of country was at that ^al^icT* " 
time frequently caUcd,\ was chosen, probably, in compliment to ^'"^" 
the queen, who had inherited a province of the same name in 
France. J For this double reason, it was a name preferable to 
the old one, taken from the county of Somerset, in which the 
patentee had his residence and perhaps his birth. 

Gorges now consoled himself in his successes. Being " seized, Gorget' 

, , , , o ' syslcin of 

*' (savs he to his provincial coadiutors.) of what I have travelled Adn'iiis- 

, ' , . . nation. 

" tor, above lorty years, together with the expenses of many thous- 
" and pounds, and the best time of my age, loaded with troubles 
*' and vexations from all parts, as you have heard ; I will give you 
" some account in what order I have settled my affairs in the 
" Province of Maine, with the true form and manner of govern- 
" ment, according to the authority granted me by his Majesty's 
*' royal charter.^ 

course their staves directed, — wliich ILcy let L\\\, from holding' them up in 
a plumh, or perpendicular suspension. 

* See Introduction ; also, 7 Coll. of Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 242—250. 

f By reason of the g'reat number of Islands in this quarter, the shores, 
or coast, were frequently called "Me Jlain.'''' Smith says, while he was at 
the Islands, in 161 1, the Indians desired strong-ly one of his men should go 
" to the .Mfyne."—Smith''s Jlisl. p. 18, 19.— Hubbard's jV, E. p. 12— says 
Weymouth anchored first at an Island, though it appeared to be "some 
high land of the J\Iaync.'" In 1635, April 22, the patent to J. Mason men- 
tions " a tract of land upon the Jlatjn." — 1 /7a;:. Coll. p. 385.— This ex- 
pression, ' the Jl/aj?i,' is common in old authors. | Sullivan. 

5 Go7-gfs'' J\'ar. p. 21. — Between 1G34, when Gorges and Mason made 
partition, and 1640, F. Champcrnoon, H. Chadbourn, N. Frost, Peter \Vy- 
er, J. Trueworthy, and others, came over. For the first ten years, after 



278 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1G39. The system he adopted was this — to retain the supreme ex- 
ecutive power in his own hands ; to appoint, of his own selection, 
a Council of seven ; and to provide for a popular branch, con- 
sisting of representatives chosen by counties. 

In the prosecution of his designs, he prepared an exact trans- 
cript of the charter, a commission to seven select councillors, 
under his hand and seal, Sept. 2, 1639, and a code of ordinan- 
ces and instructions ; all which he transmitted hither, requesting 
the Council to proceed in the execution of their trust without de- 
lay, and at their opening session, to read the whole publicly — 
that the people of his Province " might know, how they were to 
be governed." Receiving no information, for six months, of its 
arrival, he carefully executed other papers and documents of the 
same description, March 10, 1640,* though somewhat enlarged 
and improved ; and these formed the basis and structure of his 
government. 
■Dcp. Gov. The permanent councillors, appointed and put in the new 
®"'^^°""'-''' commission, were Thomas Gorges, Deputy Governor; Rich- 
ard Twines of Saco ; Henry Joscelyn of Black-Point ; Francis 
Champernoon of Piscataqua [Kittery] ; Richard Bonython of 
Saco; William Ilook\ oi Az,^mex\\icus', and Edward Godfrey 
of Piscataqua. 

In the place of " Thomas Joscelyn, knight, "J whose name ap- 
peared in the first commission, was substituted Thomas Gorges, 
whom Sir Ferdinando calls " his trusty and well beloved cousin." 
He also calls Vines " his steward general ;" and Champernoon^ 
" his loving nephew." 

the earliest settlement of Agamenticus, A. D. 1624, the population increas- 
ed slowly. William Gorg^es came over a second time in 1635 ; and proba- 
bly Edward Godfrey and William Hook came some years earlier. 

* The dale was A. D. 1639, but this must have been in old style. — Sulli- 
van, p. 307. 

■)• Hook was in the Province, as early as 1633. — 1 Haz, Coll. p. 318 — But 
removed to Salisbury (Mass.) some years before he died in 1654. 

J It is supposed Thomas Joscelyn never came over; — the others were 
John who came over in 1638 and has published ^ Voyag'es," and Henry, 
who settled at Black-point. 

\ 1 Haz. Coll. p. 3SS.— 1 Bclk. Biog. p. 3S6.— Champernoon died A. D. 
1687. Two of his daughters married into the Cults family. A third mar- 
ried Humphrey Elliot, whose son, Champernoon Elliot, inherited bis grand- 
father's estate. 



Chap, vi.] of Maine. 279 

The higher or state officers of the Province were seven, a.d. icu. 
whose titles and trusts were presciibcd, and who were all desig- .Sime offi- 
nated or commissioned from the members of the " Standmg 
Council." 1. ^hc Depiitii, ov Lieutenant-Governor, was the 
president of the Board and chief magistrate, under the Lord Pro- 
prietor, and htld his office for three years : 2. The Chancellor 
was appointed to determine all differences between party and 
party in matters of equity : 3. The Marshal had the com- 
mand and management of the militia, who was invested with 
power to hold a court by a Judge-marshal, where all military 
cases of honor or arms, capital as well as tactical, were to be 
tried : 4. The Treasurer received and disbursed the public reve- 
nue : 5. The Admiral had charge of all the naval forces ; and 
either by himself, his lieutenant or a subordinate judge, determined 
maritime causes, happening within the Province or upon the 
high seas, whether they concerned trade, maritime contracts, or 
the duties of factors : G. The" Master of Ordnance took charge 
of all public military stores, both for the sea and land service : 
7. And lasdy, The Secretary was the Lord Proprietor's and Coun- q.,,!,^ ,o (^ 
cil's official correspondent and keeper of the Province seal, which ''''''^"■ 
he was to impress upon all the })recepts and processes of that 
body. This office was assigned to the Deputy-Governor himself. 
To fpialify the Councillors for the exercise of the trust, they 
were required to take two oaths, before some two of their num- 
ber ; the first was the oath of allegiance, according to the form 

prescribed in England — the other was in these words : " I do 

" swear to be a faithful servant and Councillor unto Sir Ferdi- 
" nando Gorges, knight, my lord of the Province of IMaine, to 
" his heirs and assigns ; to do and perform all dutiful respects to 
'•him or them belonging, conceal iheir counsels, and without 
" respect of persons to give my opinion in all cases, according to 
" my conscience and best understanding, both as I am a judge 
*' for hearing causes and otherwise ; freely to give my opinion as 
" I am a Councillor for matters of die State or Commonwealth ; 
" and that 1 will not conceal from him and his Council any matter 
" ot conspiracy or mutinous practice against my said lord, his 
" heirs and assigns ; but will instantly after my knowledge there- 
" of, discover the same unto him and his said Council, and seek 
•' to prevent it, and by all means prosecute the authors thereof, 
*' with all severity according to justice." 



280 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1640. The Council were directed to appoint a Clerk or Register, 
Officers and to record their proceedings ; and a Provost-Marshal, to execute 
their precepts, judgments and sentences, who was to be provided 
at the pubhc charge, with a suitable building for the confinement 
of prisoners. It was also enjoined upon them to hold their court 
regularly on a stated clay every month ; and in a place the most 
central, and convenient for the population, or inhabited parts 
of the Province. 

In session, the Council's jurisdiction extended to all cases, 
both civil and criminal. Piratical depredations, which were at this 
period uncommonly alarming, were particularly mentioned. 
To seize or to kill pirates, the Council might commission 
any individual, and likewise command the Provost-Marshal to 
raise the posse, or call out all the forces of the Province. But 
the Council were required always to proceed according to the laws 
of England ; three constituting a quorum for business — though 
Mr. Gorges or Mr. Vines, in all capital trials, was to be one.* 

The forms preserved may be worth a recital. For instance, 
in capital cases and felonies, the warrant was in these words ; — 
To the Provost-Marshal,j or any Constable of the Peace. 
Forms. ^ These are to command you presently to take with you 

a sufficient guard, and to use your best means for the 

apprehending of ; and him to bring before us, to answer 

unto such matters of felony as shall be objected against him. 
Hereof fail not. Given under the seal of the Province, &cc. 
The forms of Civil Process ran thus : — 

To [ A. B. ] o/" [ C. ] in said Province — Greeting. 
J- -, These are to will and command you to come and ap- 
pear before us, the Council established for the Province 
of Maine, upon the day, of to answer to the complaint 

of ' ^ 

Given under the seal of the Secretary of our said Coun- 
cil the day, &fc. T. GORGES. 

If any one contemned the judgments of court, or resisted pro- 
cess, he was to be arrested, if force could do it, and in case he 
fortified his house, or fought the officer, the Provost-Marshal, 
armed by a special precept from the Council, was required to 

* Gorges' Hist. p. 50—51. 

t The fees of (he Provost-Marshal v/as 2s, for serving" a warrant. 



Chap, vi.] of MAINE. 281 

take sufficient aid, and proceed against him with fire and sword a. d. \fAO. 
if necessary, as against a dangerous rebel.* 

Sir Ferdinando proposed also to divide this Province into four 4 Counties. 

' ' 8 Hundreds, 

Counties, or Bailiwicks, east, west, north, and south :f these I'aribiies, 

and 'J'ytli- 

into eight hundreds ; and the latter into parishes and tytliings, ings. 
as the people should increase or convenience require. 

In addition to the seven " Standing Councillors," who also con- 
stituted the Supreme Court of judicature; there were to be elect- 
ed eight deputies " by the freeholders of the several counties, 
' as Representatives in behalf of the Country, who were author- 
' ized in virtue of their places to set in the General Court, as 
' assistant members and give their opinions according to right and 

' justice. These fifteen formed the Lcc;islative branches of the Lejrislaiivo 

. ' Body. 

' government ; and without the advice and consent of the whole 

duly assembled, " no judge or minister of state was to be allowed 
or approved ;" — no alienation of lands by gift, grant, or otherwise 
was to be made, — nor any other matter of moment transacted 
or determined. Once in every year and at other times, when- 
ever any law was to be enacted or repealed, any money or taxes 
levied, or any forces for the public defence raised ; two of the 
most worthy citizens in each county, were to be elected as Dep- D^nuues or 
uties, or Representatives, by the freeholders thereof, in virtue of ^^^1"'*^'^"'^' 
a summons issued in the Lord Proprietor's name, by advice of 
the standing council; and when returned they were to join with 
the other, or upper branch, in the exercise of the legislative pow- 
ers given them, for which the Assembly was convened. But noth- ^,^^^^,1 
ing is said of their voting in a separate house ; yet to this Assem- 
bly of 15 members, all appeals were made, in case of injustice 
or wrong, committed by any civil officer or other person, actuig 
under the authority of government. 

For the administration of justice in each County, and the main- Courts of 
tenance of the public peace, a lieutenant and eight justices were 
to be appointed by tlie Executive ; and these, when in session, 
were authorized to choose or appoint two head-constables for 



* See these Documents and ordinances entire. — Sullivan\'{ Hist. Maine, 
App. p. 41.3 — 121. 

t Gorges'' Hist, p, 50. — He says, each was to contain a Regiment of Mi- 
litia. — 1 Ha:. Coll. p. ;5S8 — 9. — At the first meeting-, it would seem that 
the freeholders in the several settlements were allowed to attend the Gen- 
eral Assembly in person; afterwards deputies were chosen in the Towns. 
Vol. L 23 



282 

A.D. 1640 

Constables 
and Tytli- 



June 2.V. 
Isl. fipii. 
Conn at 

SdCO. 



THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

each hundred, also for each parish, one Constable and four 
Tythhig-men. In imitation of king Alfred's policy, the demean- 
or of the householders and their families was to be made known 
by the tything-men to the parish constable ; by him in writing to. 
the head-constables ; and by them to the lieutenant and justices 
at their next session ; — and if the misdemeanor committed was^ 
within their jurisdiction, they were to hear and decide upon it ; 
otherwise it was their duty to present it to the Lord Proprietor, or 
his deputy in Council. 

Such is the substance of the constitution and political admin- 
istration under the charter of Gorges — a system " much more 
easily drawn on paper, than carried into execution." The gov- 
ernment was proprietary, and the religion and church-polity 
episcopal ; but no provision was made for public institutions, nor 
for schools ; judicial proceedings must conform to the laws of 
England ; the lands were subject to a quit-rent, payable every 
year, of sixpence per acre ; and in all sales* of real estate,, 
licenses were first to be obtained from the justices, else the trans- 
fers would not be valid. No provision was made for empannel- 
ling juries, yet it seems they were early in use as a part of the 
court. 

The " first General Court," under the charter, was opened on 
the 25th of June, at Saco ; and holden by only fourf of the 
Council, Richard Vines, Richard Bonython,^ Henry JoscelyUy 
and Edward Godfrey. They called themselves ' Councillors of 
' Sir Ferdinando Gorges, for the preservation of justice through 
' his Province ;'§ and after taking the qualifying oaths, they pro- 
ceeded to the discharge of their official trust. They appointed 
Roger Gard, of Agamenticus, Clerk or Register ; Robert Sankey, 
of Saco, Provost-Marshal,|| JYicholas Frost, of Piscataqua, Mi- 
chael Mitten, \jMiiton,'\ of Casco, and John Wilkinson, of Black- 
point, the Constables of those places. At the first session, there 
were entered 1 8 civil actions and 8 complaints. For the purpose 
of exercising a jurisdiction*^ under Gorges' charter, in opposition 



* 1 Belk. Biography, p. 386. 

■j- It seems Thomas Gorges had not 3'ct arrived. F. Champernoon must 
have com.? over be fore this time ; — HooJc had been here seven years. 

J CaLled in llio commission "Bonitja." 5 Sullivan, p. 308. 

II 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. \>l. 

^ At this court, George Cleaves, who took up 2000 acres, at Spurwink, 
^n the promise, as he said, of a grant from Gorges, sued J. Winter, in two 



Chap, vi.] of malne. 283 

to the claimants of Lys^onia, it was expedient to hold the court a. D. 1640. 
at Saco ; thougii the people of Agamenticus and Piscataqua felt 
it to be a disappointment, and complained of the distance to the 
court, us a grievance. They had expected that Agamenticus 
would bo the seat of government ; and the court, determining to 
hold sessions there likewise, required of the Piscataqua settlers, 
their attendance at Saco, only on the annual election days in 
June ; and allowed them to attend in either place they might 
choose, at any other times. 

Among the prosecutions at the fii'st session, only one can be 
mentioned.* This was the indictment of Jolm Wiiiter, a trader, 
of Spurwink, or Richmond's Island, for taking a premium of more 
than 5 per cent. 'upon the cost of the articles sold. The prohi- 
bition, though uncouth to us in this age of free trade and com- 
merce, was, in those times of scarcity and ignorance, perhaps, a 
fit provision of law. 

In the summer, Thomas Gorsies arrived, commissioned by the '•'•''"^as 

' O ' J (iiirgcs, 

Lord Proprietor, his Deputy-Governor of the Province. He L>e". Gov. 

'■ '■ -^ _ arrives. 

was a young gentleman who had received a law education at the 
Inns of court, in Westminster, whose abilities, qualities of heart, 
sobriety of manners, and liberal education, qualified him well for 
the office. His instructions were, to consult and counsel with the 
magistrates of Massachusetts, as to the general course of adminis- 
tration most expedient to be pursued ; and such were his own 
resolutions, that he determined to discharge the duties of his of- 
fice witli fidelity and promptitude. 

At Agamenticus he found affairs, both private and public, in 
lamentable disorder. The Lord Proprietor's buildings, which 
had cost him large sums of money, were in a state of great di- 
lapidation, and his personal property was squandered ; — nothing 
of his household-stuff remaining but an old pot, a pair of tongs, 
and a couple of cob-irons. 

actions, for intrusion and trespass; on taking^ possession under the patent 
to Trelawncy and Goodycare, and recovered. — One R. Bradsliaw, under 
Gorges and Mason, was succeeded by Richard Tucker, who had joined 
Cleaves at Spurwink. — There were spverai civil actions brought to this 
court, viz. A. Browne v. Tiionrias Purchas — slander— verdict £5. — R. 
Gibson r. J. Bonython, — slander — verdict, £G, 6s, 6d, 

* The first volume of York County Records begins in 1640 ; and the voU 
utnes are numbered regularly, down to the present Lime. 



Georg;e 
Burdel'; 
irtal. 



284 THE iiisTORV [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1640. In political matters, the Deputy-Governor found George Bur- 
det to be the chief manager. Pride and abilities had given him 
self-confidence and obstinacy ; and he regarded no law, otherwise 
than to wrest it and make it sanction or excuse his iniquities. He 
was immediately arrested by order of the Deputy-Governor, for 
breaches of the seventh commandment, and bound over to an- 
swer for his crimes before the next Councillors' Court at Saco. 
In this tribunal, which commenced its session Sept. 7th, Mr. 
Gorges presided, juries were empannelled, and justice was reg- 
ularly administered. At this session there were pending about 
40 cases, 13 being indictments. 

Burdet appeared, and such were his arts in management, and 
such his persuasive address, that he inclined Mr. Vines and two 
others of the Court, strongly in his favor. Nevertheless, he was 
indicted and convicted of adultery, of breaches of the peace, 
and of " slanderous speeches." For the first of these offences, 
the Court sentenced him to pay £30, and for the others £5. He 
appealed, and claimed the right of a rehearing in England.* 
But Gorges, deaf to the demand, ordered his property to be 
seized and sold in execution of his sentence ; and in return, 
Burdet, denouncing vengeance against his judges, soon departed 
for England. There, all his expectations of redress were quickly 
extinguished ; for, taking sides with one party in the civil wars, he 
was seized and thrown into prison by the other ; — and we hear of 
this troublesome man no more.f 

Some other trials and a few political acts of the Court, may 
well be mentioned ; — both to gratify curiosity, and reflect some 
light upon the history of those times. J 

At the same session, Ruth, the wife of John Gouch, being in- 
dicted by the grand inquest, was convicted of aduhery with Bur- 
det, and received sentence, ' that six weeks after her expected 
' confinement, she should stand in a white sheet, publicly in the 
' congregation at Agamenticus, two several sabbath days ; and like- 
* wise one other day in the General Court, when she should be 
' thereunto called by the Councillors of the Province, according 
' to his Majesty's laws in that case provided.' 



He goes to 
England. 



R. Gouch 

Indicted. 



* The charter did not allow of any appeal to Englaud. 
I Hubbard's N. E. p. 361.— Wintlirop's Jour. p. 207. 

XFulsom's Saco and Biddiford, p. 55— 7— where mcntiuu is made of 
several trials and cases. 



Chap, vi.] OF MAINE- 285 

Three other presentments were these, — one against John Lan- a. d. 1640. 
t\ev oi' I*\sc^Vdqun, for swearing two oaths, who was fined two Offenres 
shillings; one against Ivory Puddington, /or being drunk at Mrs. 
Tynn's, and fined ; and one against John Smith, servant of John 
Alcot, /or running away from his master and other abuses, who, 
after conviction, was sentenced to he whijDped and sent to his 
master. A bill of indictment was drawn against George Pud- 
dington, of Agamenticus, for saying on the 8th of August preced- 
ing, — ive hold the ^^ power of our combination^^* to be stronger 
than the power of the king. Tl)is the jury endorsed ignora- 
mus. \ 

To prevent the great destruction, made by wolves among do- Bounty for 
11/-^ 1 1 1 -» 1 • 1 1 Wolves, 

mestic animals, the Court ordered 12 pence to be paid by every 

family between Piscataqua and Kennebunk, for each wolf killed 
within those limits ; and the same sum by every family between 
Kennebunk and Sagadahock for each one killed, within that di- 
vision : — the hunter receiving an order from the nearest Councillor 
to demand the premium. 

A division of the Province was in fact made, by the river Division of 
Kennebunk, into two Districts, or Counties, " East and West." vince!^"' 
No names appear to have been assigned to either by the Court, somer^sa 
though the western district, or county, gradually acquired the ^^°""''^*' 
name of York, and terms of an Inferior Court were appointed to 
be holden at Agamenticus, by a portion of the Council, three 
limes in a year; and the other, being commonly called Somerset, 
or JVew- Somerset, had three terms of a like Inferior Court holden 
annually in the same manner within it at Saco. It was also order- 
ed that henceforth there should be one General Court holden at 
Saco, for the whole Province of Maine every year, on the 25th 
of June, or on die next day, if that should fall on the sabbath ; 
and the Council might convoke sessions of that Court at other 
times. But the '• Inferior Courts had no jurisdiction in capital 
felonies, or civil actions involving tides to lands." 

Actuated, no doubt, by pious motives, though by peculiar zeal, 



* By this it would seem that Ajjamenticus had previously combined. 

•j- The Grand Jury presented John Winter, of Richmond's Island, " for 
that Tliomas Wise of Casco, hath declared upon his oath, tliat he paid said 
John Winter, a noble (6s. 8d.) for a gallon of brandy or aqua vitae." Mr. 
John West " declared he bought of John Winter" a pair of gray stockings 
at 2s. and shot at 4d. the pound, and paid in bearer at 63. the pound. 



286 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A« D. 1640. the Court ordered all parents in the western County, or Division, 

An order as to bring their unhaptized children to the ordinance ; and whoever 

" should refuse, after a minister was settled in his plantation, and 

after "the worshipful Thomas Gorges" and Edward Godfrey, 

— the Deputy-Governor and senior Councillor of the Province, — 

■" should enjoin upon him the duty ;" he was compellable, on 

being summoned, to appear and answer for his contempt at the 

next Court. 

„. , But nevertheless, the new administration in its energetic meas- 

Piscataqua ' ° 

settiemems ures gave satisfaction to the Province in general ; thoueh the set- 

combiue. o 7 o 

tlements upon the northern banks of Piscataqua were not par- 
takers in the contentment. Disinclined to acknowledge the 
jurisdictional authority of Gorges' charter, yet complaining of 
the great evils they had suffered through want of civil govern- 
ment, they entered into a social compact, Oct. 22d ; and by arti- 
cles to which Richard and William Waldron, Thomas Larkham 
and 38 others were subscribers, combined themselves in a body 
politic, for the free exercise and preservation of their political 
rights. They professed to be the king's loyal subjects, and said, 
they should observe his laws, in connexion with those of their 
own making, till he should give them further orders.* But as 
insubordination and anarchy are the fruits of political changes ; 
these pure democracies, it was found, were holden together by 
ties so slender, as to be easily burst by the first popular discon- 
tent ; — and such was the fate of this compact. 

Civil war Exhilarated, as Gorges had been, in the prospect of soon filling 
in Eugland. , . -r^ • • 1 • 1 i • • ^ ^ • 1 1 

his Provmce with inhabitants, prosperity, and happiness ; he sub- 
mitted to reverses with vexation and grief. The voice of the 
people at home, was now at a high pitch, both against his party 
and their politics. The Commons had already commenced at- 
tacks upon the ministry, the prelacy, and even the prerogatives of 
the crown ; in consequence of which, religious persecutions had 
ceased, and emigration in a great degree also. P"'or such is the 
love of country and the satisfaction flowing from the enjoyment 
of liberty, in matters of conscience and worship, that when the 
persecuting sword was wrested from the destroyer, many who 

* 1 Haz. Coll. p. 482 Hubbard's JsT. E. p. 222.— The southerly part of 

Piscataqua plantation was called Champernoon's, probably from the name 
of one of the Council. It seems Waldron and Larkham, after this, lived 
in Dover, in N, H.— 1 Belk. J^. H. p. 48, 50.— 3 Coll. Mass. HUl. Soc p. 7. 



Chap, vi.] of Maine. 287 

were preparing to emigrate, changed their minds, and some al-A.D. i64i. 
ready here, broke up their connexions and returned to England. 

The muhipUcation of removals hither, in preceding years, had Changes of 
a direct tendency to enhance the demand and price of domestic 
animals and of provisions. Passengers brouglit money with them, 
ant! articles of English fabric. IJut when emigration decreased,* 
great cattle, which had been selling at £25 a head, could be 
purchased for one half, or a third part of that sum ; corn and 
grain v/ere considered a good tender ; and provision by law, it is 
said, was first made for extending executions on real estate. 
The domestic manufacture of wearing apparel and bed-clothes, 
having become more necessary than at any former period, the 
farmers found it indispensably necessary to raise flax and breed 
sheep ;f and raw materials were wrought by females into needful 
cloiliing. A trade was opened between several places in New- 
England and the West Indies, in which lumber was exchanged 
for the products of those Islands; — a trade ever of great advant- 
age to this eastern country. 

Sir Ferdinando in his special patronage of Agamenticus, gave ATampiui- 
it a charter of incorporation, April 10, 1G41,J by which he erect- Borough, 
ed it into a town or " borough.'" It embraced the territory three 
miles every way " from the church-chapel," or " oratory of tlie 
plantation ;" and invested the burgesses, or inhabitants, with pow- 
ers to elect annually a mayor and eight aldermen ;§ and to hold 
estate to any amount. The mayor and board were authorized 
to make by-laws, to erect fortifications, and to hold courts in the 
"Town llall," once in three weeks, for the trial of misdemeanors 
and all civil causes. The inhabitants now thought they had ex- 
clusive privileges, and when the General Assembly or Court of 
elections was convened in June, at Saco, and opened by the Dep- 
uty-Governor, and the councillors. Vines, Bonython, Joscelyn and 

* Huhhar(Vit jY. E. p. 385, 395— 238-9— 246.— The New-England colo- 
nics, the next twenty years, lost by returns liome, more than they gained 
by accessions from the mother coimtry. — 1 JSTeaVs .'V. E. p. 218. 

t At this time there were in New-England about 12,000 neat cattle and 
30OO sheep. — 1 Hutchinson s Hist. p. 91. — Corn -Is. ; rye 5s. and wheat 
6s. per bcshel. See also Chalmers, p. ICJ-S. 

I Charter entire. — 1 Haz. Coll. p. 470-J. 

5 Tiiomas Gorges was mayor, and the aldermen were Edward Godfrey, 
Roger Gard, George Puddington, Bartholomew Barnett, Ed. Johnson, Ar- 
thur BragdoD, Henry Simpson and John Rogers. 



288 '^HE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1641. Godfrey, three of the aldermen, and a delegate from the burges- 
ses or inhabitants, appeared and presented a special memorial 
declaratory both of their corporate rights and duties. They ac- 
knowledged, they said, the authority of the provincial charter 
under the Lord Proprietor, and cheerfully rendered full submis- 
sion to its requirements and the government under it, so far as 
they were lawfully bound ; protesting at the same time, that 
neither their present appearance at court, nor any other act of 
theirs should be deemed prejudicial to their borough-privileges ; 
and subjoining a request, that their protest might be authen- 
ticated by a " Notary," and recorded. 

It is manifest, that the corporate privileges, granted to Aga- 
menticus were peculiar, and might create some uneasiness in 
other parts of the Province ; yet the court were willing to give 
contentment, and ordered the immunities and powers possessed 
by the borough to be duly respected, till the farther pleasure of 
the Lord Proprietor should be known.* 

Without doubt his motives were wholly beneficent, and his 
wishes in unison with theirs : For I have, (said he,) ' by divine 
'assistance settled in the Province a hopeful form of govern- 
' ment ; and I am still anxious by all practicable means, to pro- 
' mote the best interests of all the inhabitants. 'f 

Actuated bv these generous designs, he determined now to 
makes Ag- erect the borough into a " City ;" and accordingly executed 

amenlicus a •uTif-./^^^.i i-ii 

«iiy. another and more perfect charter, March 1, 1642, by which he 

incorporated a territory of 21 square miles, and the inhabitants 
upon it, into a body politic, which he, evidently in compliment 

« to his own name, called " Georgeana."! The whole lay in the 

izeorgeana. ' ^ ./ 

form of a parallelogram, on the northern side of the river Aga- 
menticus, extending up seven miles from its mouth, and a league 
upon the seashore. 

The police consisted of a mayor, 12 aldermen, 24 common 



* 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 101. f Gorges' Nar. p. 58. 

J Charier entire. — 1 Haz. Coll. p. 480 — Q.— Edward Godfrey atfirmed 
that ' he had been a promoter of this Colony of IN. England from A. D- 
< 1609, and above .^2 years, an adventurer in that design, an inhabitant of 
i Agamcnticus in 1629—20, and the first that built there; that in 1634, 
' he for himself, Samuel Maverick, William Hook and associates, obtain- 
« ed of the P. Council, a grant of 12,000 acres on the easterly side of Ag^a- 
Dienticus ; and Gorges' grandson Ferdinando, 12000, on the other side.' 



Chap. vi.J of jialne. 289 

council-men and a Recorder, — annually elective in March, by the A. u. 1642. 
citizens or freeholders. The Mayor and Aldermen were ex officio 
Justices, and had the appointment of four sargents, whose badge 
was " a white rod," and whose duty it was, to serve all judicial 
precepts. The officers took, besides the oath of allegiance, an- 
other for the faithful performance of their trust. 

The courts were two : — one holden every Monday by the Count. 
Mayor, Aldermen and Recorder, for the trial of all offences not 
extending to life, and all civil suits not exceeding £10, and not 
concerning the title to lands. The town-clerk was the register 
and keeper of the recorils ; and the j)roceedings of the court 
were to be according to those in chancery at Westminster ; 
appeals to the Lord Proprietor or his Deputy-Governor in person 

being allowed in all cases. The other was a mere " Court- 

leet," holden twice a year by the Recorder, for preserving the 
rights of the corporation itself, and for punishing such as were 
abusers of the public trust. 

All the lands widiin the limits of the city not previously con- 
veyed, were granted to the corporation in fee-simple, to be 
holden of the Lord Proprietor, as he held the Province of the 
crown, by paying yearly a quarter of wheat. 

The Mayor,* Aldermen, Common Council, and Commonalty, 
were empowered to make any by-laws they might think fit and ihe^corpor. 
wholesome, for the better order and government of the corpora- °"°°" 
lion, not repugnant to the laws of England, nor those of the 
Province ; and to erect any fortifications, which might be approv- 
ed by the Provincial Governor and Council ; — and generally, they 
were to enjoy the liberties and privileges chartered to the city of 
Bristol in England. 

In conclusion — Sir Ferdinando adds, ' I command my Deputy- conclusion 
' Governor, all my Council and freeholders of the Province, to 



* The first City-major was £dward Godfrey; — the aldermen were 
probably those under the former charter. — Wintlirop^s Jour. A. D. 1643, 
p. 276, — says, they have " lately made Agfamenticus, a poor village, a Cor- 
poration — and a tailor [R. Garde] their Mayor." They have also "enter- 
tained one Mr. Hull, an excommunicated pirsoii, for their minister." — The 
population of Gcorj^eana, at this time, was probably between 250 and 
300 souls. Mr. Hull was also a preacher on the Isles of Shoals. Mr. Thomp- 
son was before Bnrdct, and a good preacher ; afterward he was' settled at 
Mount Walliston. — Winthrop^s Jour. p. 195, — 7. 
Vol. I. 24 



290 ' THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1642. < take notice of this charter* and to aid and assist the Mayor and 
' Commonalty, their successors and assigns, in all things touching 
' its rights and authority.' 

More than ten years the city of Georgeana acted in a corpo- 
rate capacity, making some grants of land, and managing affairs- 
in a manner most beneficial to the interests of the people. 

As the mother country was in a revolutionary state, the Prov- 
ince of Maine might have been an asylum for loyalists and epis- 
copalians ; and some such without doubt emigrated, from the 
flames of civil war enkindling in the realm. But the provincial 
government, however, was not sufficiently settled, energetic, and 
methodical, to ensure confidence to a great extent. 
New- All parts of New-England had hitherto, since the rage of par- 

iin^tcrwil^h ty in the kingdom, happily experienced a gradual increase of 
seiisr^'^''" wealth and numbers. f By judicious management and an ener- 
getic administration, Massachusetts in particular, had acquired to 
herself an acknowledged ascendency or elevation, in her political 
character. Indeed, New-Hampshire, taught, since Mason'is death 
by bitter experience, the futility of self-formed combinations for 
security, had sought a coalescence with that colony ; and in 1 642, 
was admitted to a political connexion which lasted 38 years, 
ivjepscot In t.he mean time the transactions of Thomas Purchas, the 

re.sigiied lo _ 

Massachu- original settler at Pejepscot, partook of the same wisdom. He 
had heard of the Pequot war ; he was acquainted with the In- 
dian character ; he knew what was the exposure of his situation, 
and the emulous aspirations of Massachusetts. To effect and 
establish a conjunction with her, he assigned to her Governor, 
John Winthrop, by a conveyance executed August 22, 1639, 
'' all the tract at Pejepscot on both sides of the river Androscog- 
" gin, — four miles square towards the sea ;" and conceded to 
her government the same exercise of power and jurisdiction, 

* Charter entire. — 1 Haz. Coll. p. 430, — 6. — Rog-er Garde, Esq. succeeded 
T. Gor<^es ia the borough mayoralty. In 1644, a woman was tried in the 
mayor's court for the murder of her husband, condemned and executed. 

f There were now settled in New-England 77 n iniste"?, who had been 
driven awav from England, and 50 towns and villages had been planted. — 
1 Coll. nf Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 247,— S.— -In Massachusetts 1,232 were added 
to the list of freemen. — 1 Holmes A. Ann. p. 324, — First CommenccmrMl at 
Harvard College was this year — a seminary patronized by all New-Eng- 
land. 



Chap. VI.] of Maine. 291 

possessed within her charter limits. In return it was expected a. D. iC44. 

the plantation would be soon enlarged and made to flourish ; — it 

being expressly provided, that Purchas himself, his heirs and 

associates should ever have the protection of the government, — 

a right which they claimed, at and after the present time ; and 

that ihey be allowed to enjoy forever the lands, they might clear 

and improve within the seven ensuing years.* 

The acts of Massachusetts colony, at least some of them, 
were viewed by malcontents, and also by jealous patriots, as 
stretches of power. Her accusers were royalists and episcopa- 
lians ; and oftentimes, in repayment of their illiberal strictures, 
some of them experienced retributive treatment but too severe. 
A sermon preached by Mr. Larkham of Dover, N. H. (now LnrkiiHm 
under jNIassachusetts) against hirelings, was an evident aim at ^" ' ***"' 
Richard Gibson, of Maine, and gave him great umbrage. He 
was an episcopalian, a good scholar, a popular speaker, and 
highly esteemed as a gospel minister, especially by the settlers 
and fishermen, at Richmond's Island and on the Isles of Shoals j 
among whom he had been for some time preaching. f He in 
reply, wrote an insulting letter to Larkham ; and likewise ac- 
cused Massachusetts of usurpation, in her endeavors to rule over 
the Isles of Shoals. In this state of irritation, Gibson provoked Isles of 

. Slioals re- 

the Islanders, A. D. 1G42, to revolt, and probably submit to Gor- voU, 
ges' government, several of the cluster being his by charter. 
But he was glad to escape the indignation of that colony 
by making a humble acknowledgement, and perhaps promising 
that the Islanders should be urged by him to return to their alle- 
giance. J 

As the New-England freemen were generally both republican The New- 
and puritan, they on the one hand disliked every friend and ad- -IropuMi- 
vocate of episcopal hierarchy ; and on the other, they were large volwi i.y 

the Com* 
inoua. 



partakers with the republicans in the struggle between the crown 



* See ante, A. D. 1G36, — also the instrument itself. — 1 Haz. Coll. p. 437. 
— It was in lGt2, that Gov. Gorg'cs and Mr. Vines visited the Wliitc Hills, 
passing on their waj' through Pcjwacket. — Wintlirop\<i Jour. p. 266. — ^But 
they found none of the " precious metalic substances," as they had expect- 
ed: 

fMr. Gibson had been in the Eastern Country about 5 or 6 years. Ho 
returned to England in 1643. 

t Hubbard's N. E. p. 381. 



292 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1645. and parliament. In sentiment and fact, they were with the revo- 
lutionists ; and as soon as the Commons had ohtained sufficient 
power, they were forward to extend unto the New-England colo- 
nists, protection and favor. They considered tlie American plan- 
tations as a country well aitected towards the propagation of the 
true gospel, and capable of great political benefit to the nation. 
To promote more extensively a commerce with them, therefore, 
the House of Commons voted (1642,) that all necessaries, the 
growth or merchandize of either country, designed for consump- 
tion, might be exchanged free of duty.* The next year, the 
welfare of the colonies was the subject of special concern. — 
Thousands, said that body, have been forced abroad through the 
oppression of prelates and other ill-affected ministers ; and need 
the protection to which they have long been entitled, against the 
malignity of royalists and papists. Viewing with jealousy the king's 
patents, more recently granted to his favorites and the establish- 
ment of proprietary or royal provinces, f they appointed the Earl 
of Warwick, Governor-General and High Admiral of all the 
American plantations, and placed around him a Board of 16 
Commissioners ;J whose duty it was to promote among the people 
the advancement of the " true protestant religion," and to exer- 
cise a provident care over their political rights and liberties. 
At this favorable era, tlie colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
'l^euuion Connecticut and New-Haven, completed a confederacy, May 19, 
Colonies, by which they entered into a solemn compact, to afford each other 
mutual advice and assistance on all necessary occasions, whether 
/' offensive, defensive, or prudential. Among the reasons assigned 

for this union, were the dependent condhion of the colonists ; the 
vicinity of the Dutch and French, who were inclined to make 
encroachments ; the hostile appearances of the neighboring In- 
dians ; the commencement of civil contests in the parent country ; 
the impracticability of obtaining from thence suitable aid in any 
emergency j and the union already formed by the sacred ties of 
religion.^ 



* 1 tiaz. Coll. p. 494. 

■j- Tl;cy probably alluded to the 12 royr.l provinces or divisions ; and the 
late charter to Gorges. 

\ John Pym and Oliver Cromwell v/crc tivo of them. 

\ See the articles in TFinthrop''s Jonr7ml, p. 275— 2S2. — Huhhard^s JV". E. 
p. 465—471. This union lasted 4Ci years. — 1 riolmes' A. Am. p. 326—7. 



Chap, vi.] OF MAINE. 293 

The Province of Maine could not be admiued a member of a.d. 1643. 
tliat confederacy ; — being subject to rulers of episcopal tenets, 
and not unfrequcntly an asylum of excommunicants, from the 
other colonies. To this cause we trace the settlement of Web- 
hannet [IVells^ hy Rev. John Wheelwright. As a preacher he was j^p^. j 
pious and learned, yet extremely pertinacious of his own opinions. ^-'T' 
He believed, the Holy Spirit divells personally in a justified ?l?\'i^ '" 
convert; and sanctijication can in no ivise evince to believers their 
justification. These sentiments were pronounced by the theo- 
logical refinements of the age, to be Antinoniian* that is, against 
the law spiritual ; and the authorities of Massachusetts, in 1636, 
sentenced him to banishment. f 

He removed from Braintree to Squamscot falls, in Exeter, 
New-Hampshire, where he obtained from the Indians a deed of 
lands, and gathered a church ; supposing himself sufficiently re- 
mote from the jurisdiction of IMassachusetts. But in consequence 
of her late union with New-Hampshire, he found it necessary to 
make another removal. Hence, Mr. Wheelwright proceeded to 
Maine, and purchasing of Gov. Gorges, a part of the lands in 
this section given to him by his uncle. Sir Ferdinando, took a Seiticment 
deed, dated April 17, 1G43, which conveyed to the worthy min- 
ister, in fee-simple a tract of about 4 or 500 acres lying " at Wells, 
in the county of Somerset," that is, along the shore eastward of 
Negunket river, perhaps to Wells' harbor. Another deed was 
obtained the same year, and from the same source, by Wheel- 
wright to himself, Henry Boad and others ; granting some of the re- 
riaining territory, between that river and the Kennebunk ; and yet 
both parcels contained probably scarce an eighth of the township, 
which was large, being equal to 40,000 acres. J Boad and Ed- 



* From the Greek, Antinomos\ against law. 

] Wheelwrig-ht was the brother-in-law of the celebrated Anne Hutchin- 
son, who with her husband was banished for the same cause, and removed 
to Rhode-Island. Mr. Wlicelwright settled at Exeter. 1638 ; at Wells 1643, 
at Hampton. 1647 ; and finally in Salisbury (Mass.) where he died A. D. 
1679, aged SO years. — See IJulchinsons FJist. p. 57,70. — Winthrop^s Jour. 
p. 329.-3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 138. — Wheelwriglit lived " near Cape 
Porpoise.'' — HuLbard's JV. E. p. 365. 
\ t See the deeds in Sullivan, Appendir, p. 408. Sec his Indian deed of 
k,V>xeter, A. D. 1629—1 Haz. Coll. p. 271-2. In tlie deed from Gorges, the 



294 '^^^^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A.D. J643. ward Rishworth were appointed by the Governor, to lay out the 
land into lots, suitable for settlers ; and then they, with Messrs. 
Wheelwright, Storer and Littlefield, began a regular plantation. 

At Wells, Mr. Wheelwright also gathered a church, of which 
he became pastor ; being well beloved and highly esteemed 
by his parishioners and all his immediate acquaintance. But an 
exclusion from the fellowship of ministers, and a banishment from 
the society of many pious men, who had been his early friends, 
were trials of extreme severity to his mind. To reconcile, there- 
fore, the Governor and Assistants of Massachusetts, he addressed 
to them, in December, (1 643,) a very humble and sensible letter, 
in which he confessed, his differences with them upon the subject 
of justification, had been magnified by the " glass of satan's 
temptations," and his own distempered imagination ; and had as- 
sumed a character and importance not warranted by the nature of 
the matter in controversy. ' I am,' said he, ' unfeignedly sorry, I 
' took so great a part in those sharp and vehement contentions, 
' by which the churches have been disturbed ; and it repents me 
' that I gave encouragement to men of corrupt sentiments, or to 
* their errors, and I humbly crave pardon.'* 

The address made a favorable impression upon the Massachu- 
setts Court ; — they knew him to be a rigid puritan and a high- 
minded republican ; therefore, they first sent him a safe conduct 
to Boston, and subsequently the same summer, (A. D. 1644,) 
they annulled or reversed the sentence of banishment without his I 
personal appearance. He afterwards embarked for England, and 
lived in that country several years in favor with Oliver Cromwell, 

river is called Ogunquit; and the g-rant is upon condition of 5s. quit-rent 
j'early for each lot of 100 acres. 

John WadloH' or Wadleigh, removed from Saco to Wells, before 1C49; 
to whom an Indian, named Thomas Chabinoke, devised ' all his title and in- 
terest to Namps-cas-coke, being the greatest part of Wells ; upon condition 
that he should allow one bushel of Indian corn annually to the ' Old Webb,' 
his mother, as long as she lived. This tract extended from the sea as far 
up as the great falls on Cape Porpoise [Mousuni] river, and from Negunket 
to Kennebunk river. In 1659'-60, he and his son joined in a conveyance 
of the lands between Cape Porpoise and Kennebunk with several reserva- 
tions, to Eppes, and he to Symonds, son of the Deputy-Goyernor of Massa- 
chusetts, who settled at Wells ; and as the same had not been previously 
conveyed, the title proved valid. — Folsom, p. 120. 

* Wiuthrop's Jour. p. 329-331. 



Chap, vi.] OF MAINE. 295 

tlie Protector. He returned nnd died in Salisbury, Mass. A. D. ■'^•^•'^^^ 
1679; and his will was proved and recorded the year followin;^ in 
the Province of Maine, where the greater part of his estate still 
remained,* 

Governor Gor2;es was far from takinc; pleasure in the present Gov. Oor- 
aspect of his provincial afiairs. The difficulties with the neigh- home, 
boring French ; the restlessness of the Indians ; the revival of 
the proprietary claim to Lygonia; and the measures of Parlia- 
ment, all served to turn his thoughts to his native country ; and 
he determined at the expiration of three years, the period of his 
commission, to leave the province. 

It was evidently the success of rei)ublicariism in Endand, ^'v;""'!', 

•' I O ' sold lo Alex. 

which at this time brought again the Lygonia, or Plough- patent, i^'si^y- 
into notice ; and induced Alexander Rigby\ to become its pur- 
chaser. The eastern parts of the tcrriloiy had been progres- 
sively settling thirteen years; and hence he took an assignment of 
the fee, and of the charter itself, April 7, 1643, in full determin- 
ation to assume possession of the country and of the reins of gov- 
ernment. Kigby had been bred to the law, was a high repub- 
lican, and a gentleman of wealth, of piety and of influence ; hav- 
ing been a member of the long parliament, probably from Lan- 
casliire, the county of his residence, and at some time Colonel- 
commandant of a regiment. 

He commissioned George Cleaves, then in England, his deputy- He nppoiiii- 
president, and directed him immediately to take upon himself the rieavesfo 
administration of affairs. Cleaves having lived 13 years at Spur- S"^*^"' "• 
wink, and on the Neck, was aware of the resistance he might 
have to encounter from the provincial government of Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, who had been by his agents, William and Thomas 
Gorges, exercir^ing jurisdiction over Lygonia six or seven years ; 
and therefore on arriving at Boston (in 1644,) he requested the 
intercession and aid of the Massachusetts' magistrates ; their po- 
litical if not religious sentiments being in harmony with Rigby's 
and his own, and in opposition to the creed of his opponents. 
But Massachusetts prudently declined any farther interposition, 
than to £rive him advice. He then wrote to Sir Ferdinando's 



* Sullivan, p. 233-4. — See post. VVei.ls j1. D. 1G53. — See also Kcnp.e- 
biink. 

t Winthrop and Sullivan spell " Rigby," — Hubbard " Rigbec." — Ed- 
ward spelt liis own narr.c '■ Kighv " 



296 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1614. Council, and returned to Casco-peninsula [Portland], and 
there resumed his residence ; Governor Thomas Gorges about 
this time returning to England.* 
Calls a Cleaves proceeded to acquaint himself with the affairs and 

Casco.^* interests of the Provuice, and called a Court, or rather Conven- 
tion at Casco ; intending to organize a government. To innovate 
upon usages or make unnecessary changes, would be inconsistent 
with the dictates of policy or maxims of reason, and he adjusted 
his conduct by rules of strict prudence and moderation. 

But every movement of his was encountered by the unquali- 

Controversy "^ •' ^ 

between fied Opposition of Gorges' government. Vines convened the 

him and ^ ^ . 

Vines. members of the Council at Saco : and in the consideration of the 
subject, he and they supposed the grand patent, granted to the 
New-England or Plymouth Council, might be void from the be- 
ginning, as some argued, because of deception practiced in obtain- 
ing it ; that though it were otherwise, and though the council had 
given a patent of Lygonia, they had long since surrendered their 
charter to the crown, and upon their dissolution, twelve royal 
Provinces were established, of which, tuo were assigned to Sir 
Ferdinando ; that the patent of Lygonia could possess no pow- 
ers of government, since that dissolution — whereas Gorges had 
obtained a royal charter from his Majesty, and had by his agents 
and officers exercised a continued jurisdiction over the Province, 
many years ; and that even if the legality of the claim rested 
upon a priority of grant, Gorges and Mason had a joint patent of 
the country, A. D. 1G22, and the former had ever since had 
possession. 

On the contrary. Cleaves could shew the original patent to 
Dye and others, executed A. D. 1630 ; a possession taken soon 
afterwards under it ; a deed of the late assignment ; and satisfactory 
evidence, that when the Plymouth Council was dissolved, there 
was a reservation of all prior grants and existing rights. Still, to 
avoid a rupture, he sent his friend Tucker to Saco, with a pro- 
posal of submitting the controversy to the magistrates of Massa- 
chusetts, and abiding their determination till a final decision 
should come from England. In return, Vines, not only treated 



* Gov. Gorg-es' place of residence, while in the Province, was "about a 
mile above Trafton's ferry, near Gorges' point,"— tiie cellar of his dwelling-- 
lio'jse remains to this day. " He went to England in 1643" and it has 
been saiii he returned and died at York.— 1 Huichinssn's Hist. p. 163. 



Chap, vi.] of Maine. 297 

the messenger with rough language but threw him into prison ; — AD. 1644. 
not permitting him to depart, till he had laid him under bonds, to 
appear at the next court at Saco, and be in the meantime of 
good behavior.* 

This outrage upon every principle of good faidi, exposed Vines 
and his adherents to the severest reprehension, which Cleaves 
might not be indisposed to aggravate. He made representations 
of these facts to the Massachusetts authorities, and requested them 
to espouse his cause. He also, and the chief men of Rigby's Pro- 
vince, to the number of thirty, sent to the Commissioners of the 
United Colonies a written proposition, which they had signed, and 
in which they expressed their desires, that it might become a 
member of tlie confederacy. 

To this, several objections were raised by the Commissioners of 
the United Colonies. The Province of Lygonia, they said, had no 
settled and well organized government. She had not complied with 
an important article of the confederaiion, which was tliis ; — that no 
Colony while adhering to the Episcopal Church-communion of 
England could be admitted to membership. Rigby, though the 
best republican commoner in Parliament, was himself an episco- 
pal professor, and a friend to the hierarchy ; and his provincials 
were of the same sentiments. However, in rejecting the pro- 
posal made, ]\rassachusetts took a prudent stand, resolving to 
abate the excitement, and avoid, if possible, the resentments 
both of Cleaves and his opponents, j 

Acts of wisdom, justice and impartiality usually give to antago- "y'^^'. "'*'' 
nists fresh confidence, and to mediators additional trouble. Both '" Massa- 

ciiuseiu. 

parties msisted upon the arbitrament of the " Bay-magistrates," 
as tlie Governor and Assistants of Massachusetts were called ; 
and were hardly restrained from immediate hostilities ; tliough 
it was repeated to them, that orders by the first arrivals from Lon- 
don would most assuredly be transmitted by the commissioners 
of foreign plantations, which would decide and settle the con- 
test. 

To allay or extinguish the excitement, a part of the magis- 
trates were content to hear the litigants. They said, umpirage was 



* Hubbard's JNT. E. p. 369. — Henry Joscelyn was as zealous as Vines. 

+ The Province of Maine [says TT'inlhrop\i Jour. p. 275,] was not admitted 
into the confederacy, — " the people ran a different course from us, both in 
" the ministry and civil administrations." 
Vol. I. 25 



298 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D, 1645. common throughout Europe, in matters infinitely more imjDortant ;. 
and a decision in this case, if not irreversible and conclusive, 
might effect a temporary reconciliation. Others said, the contending 
agents had no adequate power to bind their principals in the 
affair : and it was a matter wholly foreign, both to their jurisdic- 
tion and their duties. 

June 3. -^^ length, however, the magistrates appointed a special court 

Theresult. ^.q j^g holden at Boston, June 3d, (1645,) to hear the case ; where 
Cleaves and Tucker, in behalf of Rigby, filed their declaration, 
which had been seasonably served on Joscelyn and Robinson, who 
appeared in defence of Gorges' Province. In the trial, which 
was commenced before a jury, duly empanneled. Cleaves was 
unable to show a sufficient assignment to Rigby, the one produc- 
ed being executed by a minority of the original patentees ; nor 
could he make it appear by legal proof, that the territory in con- 
troversy, fell in fact within Rigby 's patent. The defendants were 
in a similar predicament, for they could only produce a copy of 
Gorges' charter, attested by witnesses, without any verification 
upon oath, or official certificate. — The court, therefore, dismissed 
the cause, advising the disputants to live in peace, till a decis- 
ion should come from the proper authority ; — and the contest re- 
mained undecided two years.* 

Sir F. Gor- ^^^ Ferdinando, after his nephew's return, appointed no suc- 
oned"^"^'*' csssor ; leaving his Province to the management of his Council. 
He himself, though now more than 70 years of age, had joined 
the army of the crown, in the civil wars, and was with Prince 
Rupert the last year of his famous siege of Bristol ;f and when 
that city was taken by the Parliament-forces, Gorges was plun- 
dered and thrown into confinement. 
^ Richard Vines was elected Deputy-Governor in 1644 ; and a 

Vines Dep. _ . 

Gov. of General Court being met at Saco, in August, 1645, he pre- 
sided in the Council, consisting at that time of five members,^ 
viz. Henry Joscelyn, Richard Bonython, Nicholas Shapleigh, 
Francis Robinson, and Roger Gard. The court confirmed the 

Wheel- , , 

wri^iifs grant to Wheelwright and associates j otherwise, they only trans- 

rired con- . ... . , 

firmed. actcd such busmcss as the exigency of tiie umes required. — 



* Hubbard's N. E. p. 370.— Sullivan, p. 314. 

t The siege was in July, 1613 ; and city taken, Sept. 11, 1645. — 5 HwnCy 
p. 121, 184. \ 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 135. 



Chap, vi.] of Maine. 299 

Mr. Wheelwright, in a few years, resigned the occupancy of his A. u, i645. 
homestead to his son, who settled in Wells, and whose descen- 
dants have been some of the first men in the Province. 

The anomalous government of Cleaves was at this time not i^ysonia- 

" _ nieavesand 

much more than a general conservation of the peace, and a super- R'gby. 
intendency of his principal's interests. As the agent of Rigb)', 
he, as early as 1 G47, conveyed lands in Casco, in Purpooduck, 
in Spurwink, and upon the Islands.* Yet his deed of Peak's 
Island, in 1637, to Michael INIitten, his son-in-law, was in virtue 
of an agency from Gorges ; as Cleaves had a commission from 
Sir Ferdinando, Feb. 25, of the latter year, ' for letting and settling 
' lands and islands between Cape Elizabeth and Sagadahock.' 
Cleaves also conveyed another large tract to JNIitten, the title to 
which seems not to have passed ; for he afterwards conveyed to 
George JMountjoy, the great surveyor, and others, — parts of the 
same tract ; — a confusion of claims, than which, nothing is more 
repulsive to settlers. 

Rigby was the patron of episcopal ministers, and the friend of 
the enterprizing, ignorant, poor. His early and generous exer- 
tions to send religious instruction to his Province, to the Islanders, 
and the fishermen upon the coast, give his character the traits of 
memorable excellence. At some time before his purchase of 
Lygonia, it is said, he encouraged Richard Gibson, before men- 
tioned, to protract his mission in these parts. — To Robert Tre- R- Treiaw. 
lawncy and Moses Goodyeare, members or friends of the episco- 
pal communion, the Council of Plymouth had granted Richmond's 
Island, though it was a part of the Lygonian patent. These 
men, in 1632, appointed John Winter to superintend the fishery 
at that place; who died, A. D. 1645, leaving a daughter, after- 
wards the wife of Robert Jordan, an episcopal clergyman. Jor- r. Jordan, 
dan lived upon the Island, and at Spurwink, till the first Indian 
war, and was an itinerant preacher to the people. f To finish 
the story of Jordan, he administered upon Winter's estate, A. D. 



* Sullivan, p. 114—115, 193, 213.— 1 Coll. .^lass. Hist. Soc. p. bA.—Ilub- 
hard^s J^ar. p. 282. — Cleaves, as Kig-by's agent, convejcd lands, in 1661, at 
Cape Porpoise. Indeed, in 1650, Riffby himself confirmed 10,000 acres of 
his Province to Cleaves. 

t Jordan died at Great Island, New-Castle, N. H. A. D. 1679, aged 78, 
devising- an immense real estate to his sons, in Scarborough and Cape-Eliz- 
abeth. — FoUom, p. 80. 



300 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1645. 1648 ; and for monies due Winter, on account of services he had 
rendered Trelawney, alter he became sole proprietor, Jordan ob- 
tained an order from the Lygonian government to seize upon all 
the estate of the latter, — acquiring in this manner a title to lands, 
particularly in Cape-Elizabeth, which has never been shaken.* 

Oct. 21. At the court of elections under Gorges' charter, holden at 

Saco.— Of Saco, Oct. 21, 1645, there were only three of the charter or 
^^^^ standing Councillors present, viz. Messrs. Vines, Deputy-Gov- 

ernor, Richard Bonython and Henry Joscelyn ; when the board, 
to the number of seven, was filled by election, — Francis Rohin- 
son, Arthur Mackworth, Edward Small, and Abraham Preble 
being chosen. Mr. Vines was re-elected Deputy-Governor ; 
and he and the Councillors were always Provincial Magistrates. 
William Waldronf was chosen Recorder, and a limited adminis- 
tration organized. 

In this Court, the usual and some peculiar subjects came un- 

Court. der consideration. The state of the Province was one. — ' Hav- 
' ing,' said the Court, ' had no communication lately from Sir Fer- 
' dinando Gorges, the Lord Proprietor, by which any authority is 
' given for the complete organization and establishment of the 

* government, proposed by him to be formed under the charter, 
' nor otherwise for some time heard from him, we have come to 

* a resolution, and it is ordered, that until directions be received 
' from the proper source, a Deputy-Governor be chosen every 
' year ; and should Mr. Vines, according to his present expecta- 
' tion, depart the Province before his term expires, we have pro- 
' visionally appointed Henry Joscelyn, to fill the vacancy.' 

A Tax. The Court laid upon the Province a tax of £4 lis., in the 

apportionment of which, they assigned to the Piscataqua planta- 

* Cleaves styled himself, in his proceedings, the " agent. of Col. Alexan- 
" der Rigby, President and Proprietor of the Province of Lygonia, — of 
" Gray's Inn, London." Trelawney and Goodyeare did not themselves 
come over; — they had an extensive patent from the Plymouth Council and 
their houses were at Spurwink. After Trelawney's death, his heirs neg- 
lected his affairs, and joined the crown party in the civil wars. — JVinth. 
Jonr. — Joscelyn's Voyages, p. 50. — Sullivan, p. 114. — Winter took the 
estate for services. 

f It seems Waldron was a man of good learning, but had been for some in- 
temperance, excommunicated from Dover Cliurch and removed to Maine. 
In Sept. 1646, he was drowned in crossing Kennebunk river. — HubharcVt 
JV. E. p. 528. 



Chap, vi.] of MAINE. 301 

tions £2 10s. ; to Gcorgeana £1 ; to Saco lis.; and to Casco a.d. ic45. 
1 Os.* By this we are made acquainted with the relative import- 
ance of those places, and with the fact of continued claim to the 
jurisdiction of Lygonia.f 

John Bonython, of Saco, being in debt and guilty of some of-f|^o"„u°"^" 
fences, had ofiered violent resistance to the oflicer, who had war- 'a«c'i- 
rants and other precepts against him ; contemned the authority 
that issued them ; and threatened to take the life of any one who 
durst touch him. To the process by which he was summoned 
to answer for his contempts and menaces, he paid no regard ; 
and therefore the court, after the usual preliminary proceedings, 
solemnly adjudged him to be an outlaw and rebel — no longer 
under his Majcstifs protection ; and likewise ordered, that if he 
could be taken alive, he should be transported to Boston, to un- 
dergo some extraordinary animadv^ersion or punishment."): 

Two law-cases occur at this session which are worthy to be diciioua['*" 
mentioned, only because they involve the question of jurisdiction, *^^^^^' 
then claimed and exercised from Piscataqua to Casco. One 
was an action of account, presented by John Trelawney, of Pis- 
cataqua, for services in the fishery at Richmond's Island, against 
John Winter, resident there ; the other was a suit by Edward 
Godfrey of Agamenlicus, one of the Council, to recover £20 
awarded him by the High Court of Star Chamber in England, 
against George Cleaves, the Deputy-President of Lygonia, resid- 
ing at Casco :^ wherein both judgments were for the plaintiffs. 

But the paramount power, exercised by the government of 
Gorges within Rigby's patent, was at length brought to a final con- 
clusion by the proper authority. The subject having been re- Commis- 
ferred to the Governor-General and Commissioners of tlie cision, 
American Plantations ;|| they made their report in March, A. D. imiivorof 
1646. By this, they decided, ' that Alexander Rigby, in virtue '^ ' ' 

* In Connecticut and Ncw-TIaven Colonics, there were, in 1645, 14 taxa- 
ble towns. 

f See 1 Coll. JIass. Hist. Soc. 101, — 2. — A fast was ortkrcd to be solemn- 
ly kept, Nov. 20, through the Province. 

J Jolm was the son of Richard Boynthoa. He lived 1-2 mile below Saco 
falls, on tlic cast side of the river. About the time of the American Rev- 
olution, the remains were discovered of the chimney and cellar of his 
house, which was destroyed by the Indians, A.D. 1675. — Sullivan, p. 224. — 
Query — what had Massachusetts to do with an offender in Maine ? 

5 Sullivan, p, 309. || Ante, A. D. 1642. 



302 

A.D. 1646. 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol. 



Divisienal 
line in the 
river Ken- 
nebunk. 



Cleaves 
opens a 
court at Sa- 
co.— Offi- 
cers. 



' of the deeds, and documents adduced, is the rightful owner and 
' proprietor in fee-simple, of the territory or Province of Lygo- 
' nia ; being a tract of land 40 miles in length and 40 miles in 
' breadth, lying on the south side of the river Sagadahock, and 

* adjoining unto the great ocean, or sea, called Mare del J\'ort ;* 
' and in him is settled the right of planting, ruling, ordering and 
' governing it. The Commissioners furthermore ordered all the 

* inhabitants of the Province to yield due obedience unto its 
' constitution of government ; and also directed the Governor of 
*■ Massachusetts, in case of any resistance, to afford the officers, 
' appointed by said Rigby, all suitable assistance.' 

According to this decision, the river Kennebunk proved to be 
the divisional line between the two Provinces ; and the only re- 
maining settlements within Gorges' charter were those of Wells, 

Georgeana, Piscataqua and the northern Isles of Shoals. 

No decision could be more unwelcome and affi'onting to the ad- 
herents of Gorges. If the land-titles of settlers under him with- 
in the patent of Lygonia were not thereby put at hazard, three 
of his Councillors, Vines, Joscelyn, and Bonython, and several 
other officers, fell within Rigby's jurisdiction, and must either 
yield allegiance to his government or leave their estates and 
homes. To resist, would only expose them to the coercive 
power of Massachusetts, which they had reason to believe, she 
would be by no means displeased to exercise. Hence, Henry 
Joscelyn prepared to remove to Pemaquid -, and some others did 
actually quit the Province. 

Cleaves, exulting in successes, and in the good graces of re- ; 
publicans, both in England and INIassachusetts, immediately j 
opened a court at Saco, under the authority and auspices of Rig- ' 
by, his principal ; at which place, at Casco, and Black-point, he 
held sessions at appointed intervals, three or four years. The 
officers commissioned or designated by the proprietor or Cleaves | 
to govern the province, it seems, were a Deputy-President and 
5 or 6 Assistants, who were probably iMagistrates of a judicial 
character. A court at Black-point was holden by Mr. Cleaves, 1 
Henry Joscelyn and Robert Jordan. The administration pos-c?s- 



* By the favorable interpretation of Mr. Rigby's patent of Lygonia, 
jyir. Hubbard''s JV'. E. p. 510, says, they " brought it to the seaside ; where- 
" as the words of the grant laid it 20 miles, and had put Sir F. Gorges out 
«« of all as far as Saco." 



U!> ;e, 



Chap, vi.] of Maine. 303 

ed some energy ; and its tide of popularity was proportionate to a.d. 1646. 
that of the Enghsh repubhcans at home ; so mucli was its for- 
tune reflected across the Atlantic. The style of the Court was 
the " General Assembly of the Province of Lvgonia ;" 
consisting of Assistants and of Deputies chosen by the people.* 

By tlie commissioners' determination, the territory of Gorges' vir.M 
Province was reduced to a remnant, and its political affairs j^'^y"^'* 
thrown into a miserable dilemma. Vines had sold and assigned 
his estate to Robert Childs, and returned to England,! ^ro'^ 
which he proceeded to Barbadoes ; 3Ir. Godfrey being the only 
Councillor left, of Sir Ferdinando's appointment. To revive and 
organize a new administration, lately so mutilated and crippled, 
a court was convened at Wells, which elected Godfrey, Cover- ^ ^ , 
nor ; Richard Leader, \icholas Shaplcisrh, Thomas Ji'ithers, )^!f"* — 

' . OtBccri. 

and Edward Rishivorth, Councillors ; — the latter being appointed 
also Recorder. Afterwards other courts had sessions under 
Gorges' charter and articles of combination, and held terms alter- 
nately in Wells and Georgeana, about three years. J 



At the court of elections, Oct. 20, 1 647, no changes in the offi 



A.D. 1647- 



cers of government are mentioned. Great and provident care 
was taken of the public interests, and the people enjoyed con- 
siderable prosperity. One act of the court was memorable ; — 
this was the formation of the Piscataqua plantations into a town .. 

_ ' ' Kiiiery in- 

by the name of Kittery j^" which embraced the present town corpor.iied, 

* It appears, the Assistants in 1643 were, \V. Roya!l, Henry Watts, 
Jolin Cossons, Peter Ilill, and Robert Booth : — and Georje Cleaves, 
Deput}- -President." 

t Vines' assignment to Child was in Oct. 164.5. Ilis hoii?c was near 
Winter Harbor on tLc sca-sliore. He first came over A. D. 1609 and had 
been constantly in the country 30 years. — Iielk. Uiog. p. 354.— He was 
a hig-li royalist. | Sullivan, p. 320, 325. 

fj Killcry is the first and oldest loicn in the State : — fJcon^eana being; a 
ct7i/ corporate, not a it;ic/». The soil is either clay, sand, gravel or loam; 
and towards the sea the land is broken and rocky. Navy-y nrd,Badger's 
Trefcthern's, Clark's, Call's and Gorrish's Islands, belong to Kittery. The 
town records begin March 19, 164:?. The town was divided, and Ber\cick 
incorporated June 9, 1713, nnd EllUl, March ]. ICIO. In 1?20, the inhabit- 
ants were employed in "husbandry, fishing, merchant-voyages and ship- 
building." Tiie town produces annually 1000 barrels of cider; but nr> 
wheat.— J/^.f. Lttlcr rf the Hon. ,V. Denncl.—T]>e titles to the lands art- 
derived from Sir F. Gorges. Fir W. Pcppercil was born at Kitlerj-poinf. 
to which bis father removed from Star-Island. A single lineal descendant. 



3Q4 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1647. of that name, the two Berwicks and Elliot. It was so called, 
from regard to the wishes of several settlers, who emigrated from 
a town of that name in England. 

Isles of ^ curious memorial, presented to the court, this year, reflects 

Slioals. ' ^ „ , . rn, 

some light upon the faint dehneations oi these tunes: — ihus, 
' The humble petition of Richard Cutts and John Cutting, shew- 
« eth, — That, contrary to an order, or act of court, which says — 
' no woman shall live on the Isles of Shoals, John Reynolds has 
' brought his wife hither, with an intention to live here and abide. 
* He also hath brought upon Hog Island a great stock of goats 
' and swine, which by destroying much fish, do great damage to 
' your petitioners and others ; and also spoil the spring of water 
' upon that Island, rendering it unfit for any manner of use — 
' which affords the only relief and supply to all the rest of the 
' Islands. — Your petitioners therefore pray, that the act of court 
' may be put in execution for the removal of all women from in- 
' habiting there ; and that said Reynolds may be ordered to re- 
' move his goats and swine from the Islands without delay ; — and 
' as in duty bound is your petitioners' prayer.' j 

In compliance with the request, the court ordered Reynolds to ■ 
remove his swine and goats from Hog Island within 20 days, and 
also from such other Islands as were inhabited by fishermen. But 
as to " the removal of his wife," it is ' thought fit by the court,' 
that " if no further complaint come against her, she may enjoy 
" the company of her husband."* Never, truly, was there a 
juster decision, but why an order of court so uncouth and so 
hostile to woman's rights and privileges, should ever blemish the < 
page of a statute book, neither history, nor tradition, informs us. , 
th and While Sir Ferdinando's Province was deeply involved in diffi- 
ciiniacterof(,y]{jgg |^g (jjgjj [^ England, about two vears before the execution 

Sir h. Gor- ' o ? . 

ges. of Charles, his royal master. Seldom is a subject more firmly , 

attached to his prince. He was a native of the kingdom, born, | 
A. D. 1 573, at Ashton Phillips, in the County of Somerset — -of 
Spanish extr action, f — a descendant of an ancient family more 

now indig-ent, isstilllivin!^, of the Ciitts family. Richard died Sept. 1810.— 
Sec post. A. D. 16.52 and 1712.— Sullivan''s Hist. p. 241—4. Kiltery was 
settled in 1G23; and Georg-eana, or Ag-amcnticus, in 1624. 

* 7 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 250. Also 1 Coll. ib. p. 103. 

■j- Duke de la RochefoucauU Liancourt says " Gorges was a Spaniard." 
It is said his father came over from Spain in the reig'n of Philip and Mary. 
2 Travels, p. 244. 



Chap, vi.] or .maim;. 305 

distinguished for respectability than opulence. Ambition, sagacity a. d. ig47. 
and cnterprize, wliich made him delight in projects of adventure, •'^ir F. Oor 
were the strong features of his character ; and wliat his mind de- 
vised, his firmness of constitution, vigor of health and force of 
purpose, enabled him to pursue with unremitting perseverance. 
But his aims were too much elevated. Fame and wealth, so 
often tlie idols of superior intellect, were the prominent objects 
of this aspiring man ; and tliough he attained to rank and honor, 
he never could amass riches. Constant and sincere in his friend- 
ships, he might have iiad extensively the estimation of others, had 
not selfishness been the centre of all his efforts. 

In early life he was privy to the conspiracy of Essex against 
the administration of queen Elizabeth, and afterwards betrayed 
the whole secret. But if this transaction brought a blush upon 
his reputation, it had an eflect to gain for him, subsequently, 
many marks of royal favor, and to attach him more closely to 
the interests of the crown. He was a naval commander before 
the close of the queen's last war with Spain ; and in considera- 
tion of his services and merits he was appointed, A. D. 1C04, 
Governor of Plymouth in the County of Devonshire. He was 
also a captain in the navy, A. D. 1G25.* 

He and Sir Walter Raleigh, whose acquaintance was familiar, 
possessing minds equally elastic and adventurous, turned their 
thoughts at an early period of life, towards the American hemis- 
phere. Being many years the survivor, he had a proportionate 
advantage. He took into his family several transported natives, 
and by listening to narrations about their people and country, he 
was amused, informed and animated. Sanguine in the belief, 
that rich and powerful states would arise in this region, his mind 
and his tongue dwelt wiUi rapture u|)on the theme. The facts 
he collected, he reduced to the form of a succinct History of this 
northern country ; which, being found to contain many curious 
and rare particulars, was printed about ten years after his death. 

In the grand patent of New-England, he was an active and 
able member, the principal advocate of their rights, and the 
most powerful champion in tlieir defence. None did more 
towards planting a colony at Sagadahock, and subsequent settle- 
ments in the vicinity. He sacrificed his time, expended his 

* 4 Hume p. 350. 
Vol. I. 26 



306 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1647, money, and sent over his own son and kindred, fully confident 
Fir F. Gor- of final success. 

But his schemes were often visionary, and his zeal sometimes 
partook of obstinacy. Determined to remove all obstacles averse 
to the establishment of the twelve royal Provinces, or a New- 
England empire, of which he was to be the Governor-General, 
he often assailed the charter of Massachusetts, as the chief em- 
barrassment, and thereby brought upon himself and his measures, 
repeated censures. 

In religion, a prominent article of his charter, he is not known 
to have uttered any intemperate or even conscientious sentiments. 
It is certain, though he was an episcopalian, devoted to the Eng- 
lish prelacy, he nev-er was a persecutor of puritans. Secular in 
his projects and pursuits, he had determined upon the acquisitions 
of dominion, riches and honors for his sons. 

His death, at the advanced age of 74, in arms, on the side of 
his king, from whom he had received so many tokens of favor, 
gave full proof of his fidelity ; and his life and name, though by 
no means free of blemishes, have just claims to the grateful re- 
collections of the eastern Americans and their posterity.* 

* His oldest son, John, succeeded to his estates and title, a man of na 
considerable cnerg-y, who survived his father only a few years. John 
left a SOD, Ferdinando, who inherited the title and some of his grand-fath- 
er's energies. 



Chap, vii.] OF MAINE. 307 



CHAPTER VII. 

The French in Acadia — T/ic local situation and rivahhip of de la 
Tour and (V Aulney — Their religious tends — The warfare between 
them — La Tour applies to Massachusetts — Gov. Gor</;es' litter — 
La Tour obtains help — Drives crAuluty to Penobscot — lit is 
affronted with the Colonists — His agent visits Boston — Madame 
la Tour proceeds home to the river St. John — Defeats iFAulnry 
— He treats with Massachusetts — Attacks la Tour's fort, cap- 
tures it and makes his wife a prisoner — Her death — La Tour's 
trading voyage — His piratical conduct — Sufferings of the Eng- 
lish sailors — The Indians — D'Aulncy's death — His widoio mar- 
ries la Tour — The English Colonists and Missionaries — Tht 
French Acadian settlements in Maine not flourishing. 

To finish our memoirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, whose life a D. JG33 
and lahors were so intimately connected with the History of 
this State ; — the annals of Nova Scotia, as identified with a large ija,^" ^°' 
part of the Sagadahock territory, have been for ten years 
necessarily suspended. In resuming the subject, we may re- 
mark, that not only were the Acadians and the Provincials of 
INIaine, neighbors ; but a trade and intercourse were kept up be- 
tween them with some profit and without intermission ; and in 
particular, the French commanders claimed and occupied the 
territory, and controlcd the tribes of Indians, situated about 
and between Passamaquoddy and Penobscot; — circumstances 
which contribute interesting materials to fill our own historic pages. 

After Razilla's death, mentioned in 1G35, the command ofRaz'ia.de 

, , /. , • 1 !• la Tour and 

the whole Acadian country devolved upon two of his subordinate d'Auiney. 
officers, claiming equal rank and authority. For about four 
years, few of their transactions are known, except their muhi- 
plied contentions about jurisdictional rights, personal interests and 
military precedency. At length their rivalship approached to 
open rupture, and disturbed the tranquillity of their English 
neighbors. 

One of these rivals was Charles St. Estienne de la Tour, 
whose father, it will be recollected, had purchased Nova Scotia 



308 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A.D. 1G35 of Sir William Alexander, A. D. 1629 -^"^ and who himself claim- 
ed the country from the triple title of that sale, and grants from 
the French king and the company of New-France. He selected 
and established his residence at the mouth of the river St John ; 
and raised fortifications on the east side of the harbor, where the 
city now is. Both in right of property, and of commission from 
Razilla, during his lifetime, which had neither been recalled, nor 
superseded, he claimed the exclusive command from the eastern 
extremities of Chiegnecto bay and the basin of Minas, westward 
to the Passamaquoddy.f 

His antagonist was d^Autney de Charnisy, who had seated him- 
self 50 leagues westwardly of la Tour, in a situation equally eli- 
gible. This was the peninsula, on the eastern side of Penobscot 
bay, at Major-higuyduceX point, [in Castine.] Here he con- 
structed fortifications, not far from a good harbor, which was well 
sheltered by Islands, and from which large ships might ascend the 
river 40 miles. He considered himself the immediate successor 
of Razilla, and entitled to the paramount government of the great 
peninsula, from Cape Sable to Canseau, especially at la Heve, 
where Razilla died ; — at Fort-Royal, where d'Aulney himself 
sometimes resided ;§ and also at Passamaquoddy, where was the 
Wation of Razilla's own patent ; boldly claiming, moreover, by 
express commission from the latter, the right of command west- 
ward to Penobscot, and as much farther as the French dominions 
extended. 

The commodious rivers, St. John and Penobscot, were also the 
ranging and residing places of two powerful Indian tribes ; and 
between them was another, at Passamaquoddy. || These three, 
or sometimes, possibly, the latter only, were called by old writers 

=*" Charles and his father could show " a continued possession upwards of" 
SO years.''— Winthrop''s Jour. p. 341—2, who says, " Port-Koyal Avas 
theirs also. — p 307. 

t From St. John to Quake, east on the north shove, is 36 miles ; thence 
to the promontory which divides Bay Fundy, 35 miles ; forming- Chiegnecto 
bay, N, E. 50 miles in extent ; and the Basin of Minas, 80 miies easterly. 

I So called from a French ofEcer, a resident there at a period not ascer- 
tained.— Ji*. Let. of Col. Wardwell and Capt. JlnnselL— Here was the 
New-Plymouth trading house, iii 1626. PCorth-eastwardly, a few miles, 
d'Aulney had a mill and buildings 5 Winthrop's Jour. p. 307. 

II These three place? wore noted tor fisiicry anl urr trade.— 1 Hutrh. 
Hixt. D. 122. 



Chap, vii.] of MAINE. 309 

" Etechemins ;^^ and to their "country," though altogether indef- A. u. iGio. 
inite,';the king, in 1638, ordered d'Auhiey to confine his govern- 
ment ;" intending thereby to settle the contests of these ambitious 
Generals about jurisdiction.* 

Nothing, however, had the tranquillizing cficct desired. Nor troubles in 
could these rivals have reason to expect that their invidious con- ""'^ 
tests, a thousand leagues from France, would arrest the attention 
of their king ; so long as he continued involved in hostilities with 
Spain ; or so long as the papists and the protestants, or Hugue- 
nots, in their civil wars, were drenching the kingdom in blood. 

If d'Aulney, a catholic, made large calculations upon the coun- 
tenance and assistance of partizans at home, and the Jesuit mis- 
sionaries in his Province ; la Tour, a protestant, entertained the 
most confident expectations of Aivor, fiom the puritan colonists of 
New-England. In November, 1641, he despatched Rochet on a. D. 1641; 
a mission to Boston ; who, taking on tlie way, letters of introduc-piiesioMas- 
tion from Mr. Shurte, the chief magistrate of Pemaquid, made for aid!"^ 
proposals to Massachusetts, — 1st. That there should be free in- 
tercourse and commerce between her traders and Gen. la Tour ; 
— 2d. That she agree to render him the assistance needed in 
prosecuting a war against d'Aulney, or in removing him from 
Penobscot ; — 3d. That he should be allowed the privilege of re- 
ceiving return cargoes of goods from England, through the colony 
merchants. 

To the first she readily acceded ; but declined an acceptance 
of the others, till Rochet could show some authority from la Tour 
to negociate such a treaty. f 

Visiting Boston, Oct. 6, the next year, a Lieutenant of la A r)- 1642. 
Tour, attended by a small retinue, presented the Governor with 
letters from his General, abounding in civilities and compliments, 
and closing with a renewal of his former requests. J A free 
trade, and nothing more, was now settled and opened, and 
several merchant vessels made profitable voyages ; the first one 
receiving from la Tour every testimony of respect which the arts 
of address could evince, and also details of d'Aulney's machina- 

Quaripl fac- 
tions and measures. These represeiltations, the master was de- '»eeii u . 

sired to put into the hands of the Governor. On his return d'Aulney. 



* I Hutchinson's Hist, p, 122, 12G. f 1 Har.. Coll. n. 19S. 
t Wintlirop's Joiir. p. 265, 267. 



310 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D, 1643. homeward, he accidentaUy had an interview with d'Aulney at 
Pemaquid, whom he found in a fit of passion and resentment. 
Here, said the latter, is a printed arret against la Tour, issued 
by the crown of France ; take it to your Governor and tell him, 
if vessels dare persist in a trade between the colonies and the 
river St. John, I will make prize of them* 

La Tour was thunderstruck by this royal edict, which pro- 
claimed him an outlaw and rebel ; and ere he could obtain any 
relaxation of its penalties, his enraged enemy, early in the spring 
following, was prepared to attack him in his own castle. With 
an armament of two ships, four smaller vessels and 500 men 
d'Aulney was able to cut off all communications with la Tour, 
by a complete blockade of his harbor, and to reduce the garrison 
to the depths of extremity. 

To aggravate the distress of la Tour, he was eyewitness to 
the arrival of a ship, full of protestant fugitives from Rochelle,f 
and laden with expected succours, for which he was suffering. 
As he perceived she could not pass the squadron, he resolved to 
leave the garrison, and entrust the defence of it to his compan- 
ions. Accordingly he and his wife, in the night of June 12th, 
escaped to the ship, and proceeded to Boston. 

He was now enabled to show the Massachusetts magistrates, 
some official articles of favor from the French cabinet ; a com- 
mission from the vice-admiral and grand prior, by which he was 
appointed " the king's lieutenant-general in Acadia ;" a per- 
mission to send the ship back with freight and despatches ; and 
letters from the company of New-France, full of advices against 
the intrigues of d'Aulney. These were all invaluable docu- 
ments to him ; which, with the powers of his persuasive ad- 
dress, collectively inspired him with the greatest confidence of 
success. 
The request '^^^ magistrates, elders and merchants of Massachusetts, were 
dLcu Jed"b strongly incHned to favor the subject of la Tour's requests. But 
Riassachu- opponents raised many and powerful objections. War, said they, 
is an extreme remedy ; and the exact justice of the case, we 
cannot expect to know, since the French cabinet itself has va- 
cillated in the affair. If d'Aulney has done us injuries, and pro- 

* Hubbard's N. E. p. 479. 

I The number was 140 persons. — Winthj-op^s Jour. p. 282. 



Chap. VII.] OF MAINE. 311 

voked us to hostilities ; it were more for our honor and the credit A. D. 1G43. 
of our religion to take arms upon the grounds of self-defence, 
and protection, than to he mere " marginal notes" to a Frenchman's 
articles of warfare. Only a permission for la Tour to procure 
an outfit of men and munitions of war against d'Aulney, will 
arouse his resentments, and may possibly be deemed, by his king, 
an hostile act of the colony : — and who can divine, but that 
the smaller weapons, forged here, may not be swords in Chris- 
tendom ? D'Aulney is powerful by land and by sea, in men, in ar- 
tillery, and military stores ; our vessels and cargoes have hitherto 
floated securely ; and he has been content v.ith our impartiality 
and forbearance. Nor had the objectors any great confidence in 
the sanctity of la Tour's principles; much less could they be melt- 
ed by his appeals to public sympathy. For, ten years before, he 
had killed two English colonists at Machias, and carried away 
the worth of £500 in goods, owned by New-England people,* 
without so much as an offer of reparation or even an apology. 
It is true, his wife was justly esteemed for her sound protestant 
sentiments, and excellent virtues ; whereas he himself was sus- 
pected of being a timeserving character, if not at heart a catho- 
lic, and in fact a coward. f 

La Tour, in defence of himself, was able to prove, that the 
men killed were intoxicated, and began the affray by firing first 
upon his party, without provocation. ' The value of the goods,' 
said he, ' I will submit to a reference, and pay all that shall be 
awarded, nay, make amends to any extent determined. He 
proceeded farther, and with a kind of magic, urged his claims by 
pleas of merit. He found men, who were ready to depose, that 
at a time when the fates of the seas had cast them upon his fort, 
he had not only fed them with the milk and meat of human kind- 
ness ; he had also provided for them passages to their homes. 

His supporters, or friends, were a respectable class of men. 
Many had unwavering faith in his protestant orthodoxy ; more 
were making calculations upon the greater profits, or gains, they 
could acquire in a trade with him than with d'Aulney ; and the 
disciples of religion thought it their conscientious duty, to extend 
the helping hand to a neighbor in distress. The outrageous 

* Mr, Vines complained of la Tour's violence and rapacity in 1633.— 
Winlhrop't Jour. y. 301. f 1 Doug-las' Stimin. p. 306. 



312 THE HISTORY [VoL. r. 

A.]). 1G43. wrongs of d'Aulney at Penobscot, and elsewhere, are recol- 
lected by us, said the Colonists ; and ' all history teaches that the 
' greediness of spoilers and the ambition of conquerors, are in 
' the ratio of their successes. If he could conquer la Tour, 
' would the acquests of 200 soldiers, and booty worth 4 or 
' £5,000 satisfy his insatiate appetite ? — A free intercourse and 
' commerce with la Tour is already settled ; and shall he be for- 
' bidden to hire ships and men at his own expense and upon his 
* own responsibility, to effect a safe return of himself and family 
' to his own plantation and fortress ? — If there be fatalities, blood- 
' shed is one of the destinies of mankind, in the defence of rights 
' and the performance of duties.'* 
Ti F-ench The same important and novel question agitated the planta- 
rivais dis- jions, between Piscataqua and Penobscot, within the government 

lurb the ' ^ . 

people of of Maine. La Tour was owine some persons considerable debts, 

Maine. . .^ 

which they feared might be lost, if he was driven from St. 
John's. f D'Aulney was generally disliked, and all desired his 
removal, to some situation more remote than Penobscot ; lest 
future successes should encourage his encroachments and despotic 
measures, or flush and inflate his arrogancy. 

A letter from the Deputy-Governor of Maine, J written from 
his residence at Kittery-point, to Governor Winthrop, will show 
us his views of the subject, 
l^eiter of " Piscataqua, 2Sth June, ] 643. 

" Right worthy Sir I understand by Mr. Parker, you 

have written me by Mr. Shurt, which as yet, I have not received. 
It cannot be unknown to you, the fears we are in, since la Tour's 
promise of aid from you. For my part, I thought fit to certify so 
much unto you, for I suppose not only these parts which are naked, 
but all north-east, will find d'Aulney a scourge. He hath long 
waited, with the expense of near £800 per month, for an opportu- 
nity of taking supplies from his foe ; and should all his hopes be 
frustrated through your aid, you may conceive where he will seek 
for satisfaction. If a thorough work could be made, and he be 
utterly extirpated, I should like it well : otherwise it cannot be 
thought but that a soldier and a gentleman will seek to revenge 

* These arguments were reduced to writing in extenso, in 1643, entire in 
1 Haz. Coll. p. 502, 516. 

t " St. John's," or " St. John's river."— i?u6. „V. E. p. 4S9.— JFinthrop, 
p. 362. I 1 Haz. Coll. p. 498. 



Gov. Gor- 
ges 



Chap. VII.] of Maine. 313 

himself; having 500 men, 2 ships, a galley, and pinnaces well a. D. 1C43. 
provided. Besides, you may j)lcase conceive, in what manner he 
now besieges la Tour. His ships lie on the south-west part of 
the Island, at the entrance of St. John's river, wiiiiin which is 
only an entrance for ships, and on the north-east lie his pinnaces. 

It cannot be conceived but he will fortify the Island, which 
will debar the entrance of any of your ships and force them back, 
shewing the will, having not the power, to hurt him. 

I suppose I shall sail for England in this ship — I am not as yet 
certain, which makes me forbear to enlarge at this time, or to 
desire your commands thither. 

Thus in haste I rest — your honoring friend and servant. 

THOMAS GORGES." 

At length, Massachusetts informed la Tour, that though she 

1 1 " 1 • -11 • 1 r • 1 ^'' Tour's 

could not as a colony, consistent with the articles oi union, take omfii and 

success* 

any active part with him in the controversy ; he might employ 
as many ships, and enlist as many volunteers into his service, as 
he could hire with his own means and pay. Full of acknowd- 
edgemeuts for this favor, he chartered of Edward Gibbons* 
and Thomas Hawkins, June 30, at £520, for each of the two 
succeeding months, the ships Seabridge, Philip and JMary, In- 
crease, and Greyhound, furnished with 50 men and 38 pieces of 
ordnance. He also enlisted 92 soldiers at the charge of £40 per 
month, whom he put on board ; the whole being armed, victualled, 
and paid at his own expense. 

To secure the owners and purveyors, he mortgaged to them 
his fort at St. John's, his great guns, and all his other property, 
real and personal, in Acadia. All prepared, the squadron, pre- 
ceded by his own ship, the Clement, sailed, July 14, and com- 
menced tlie attack upon d'Aulney, immediately on their arrival. 
The onset was so unexpected and furious, that d'Aulney was 
compelled to quit his station ; when his enemies gave him chase 
and pursued him to Penobscot. f Here he ran his two ships and 
a small vessel aground, for the purpose of fortifying himself in 



* Gibbons was g-ay, young; and weallliy, also a magistrate, A. D. 1C50 — 
1 Iluhhard's IJist. p. loU. 

f JVinlhrop sayv^ p. 307, it was Porl-Uo jfil ; but Hutchinson and Sullitnn, 
p. 277, say it was " Prnobsrot;"' confirmed by subsequent fac's — 1 Hutch- 
inson s Hist. p. 124. — JFinthrop''s Jour, p. 362. 
Vol. I. 27 



314 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1643. the most expeditious manner, and then turned upon his pursu- 
ers. 

The commandant of the Massachusetts' forces declined any- 
farther prosecution of the enterprize ; and a smart engagement 
with a party of d'Auhiey's men, at his mill, not a great distance 
from the fort, closing the scene, though not without loss, as several 
on each side were killed or wounded in the action.* Within 
the limited time of the charter-party, the ships and men arrived 
safely in Boston harbor, without having lost a man ; bringing 
with them a vessel they had taken from d'Aulney, laden with 
moose skins, beavers and other furs. These they divided in 
equal proportions to la Tour, to the ships, and to the men. 
Disputes of j^ communication from Boston met d'Aulney, on his late re- 

D'Aulney _ _ •' 

and Massa- turn to his fort, unfortunately while in a most unhappy temper of 
chusetts. ' . •' J, 

mind.f It was in part an answer from the Governor, to a 

letter received by him in the preceding autumn ; and further- 
more, it was an explanation of the manner in which la Tour 
had obtained ships and supplies. ' Had we, said the address to 
' him, been molested in the right of free trade, as you threaten- 
' ed us, we should not have been backward to do ourselves jus- 
' tice. But the colony government of Massachusetts has in fact 
' taken no measures, nor granted any commission, against you. 
' To permit la Tour to enlist and hire forces with his own 
' money, violates no sound political rules, it is a mere attribute 
' of our independence, while the laws of christian duty require 
'us to relieve all distress. Yet surely nothing would be more 
' grateful to our wishes, than reconciliation and peace.' J 

D'Aulney was unprepared for a rupture with that colony, and 
might have repressed his resentments, had there been no fresh or 
new aggressions. But he was now determined to subdue his 
rival, let IMassachusetts act what part she pleased, and therefore 
applied again lor assistance in France ; giving out, that a force 
was soon expected suflicient to destroy him. 

In the mean time, he resolved effectually to prevent all inter- 
course between la Tour and the English colonists. Nevertheless, 



* Thirty of the N. England men with la Tour's men were engaged in 
this last skirmish, and 3 Frenchmen were killed on each side. — Hubbard's 
J\r. E p. 483. 

fThe messenger was " lea blindfold into the house and so returned, 6 or 
7 hours after." J Hubbard's N. E. p. iS'L 



Chap. Vll.] OF MAINE. 315 

for the purpose of collecting monies, due from la Tour, Vines of A.D. 1C44. 
Saco, Shurt of Pemaquid, and Wannerton* of New-Hampshire, 
all men of eminence in their respective plantations, took passage for 
tlie river St. John's ; yet when they arrived at Penobscot, d'Aulney 
detained them several days under forcible restraints — from 
whicii Mr. Shurt, whom he owed and esteemed, had hardly influ- 
ence enough with him to obtain a release. The transaction was 
felt by ihem to be a violation of all social and sacred usages ; Cau«c» of 

J ,,7- , ... hisaffioiit. 

and VVannerton was a man, whose passions and mtemperance 
rendered him a fit instrument to devise acts of revenge. Con- 
firmed iu his belief, by reports at St. John's, that the garrison at 
Penobscot was destitute, both of effective men and competent 
provisions, he collected a party of twenty or more ; ami on his 
return, led them onward, armed witii swords and pistols, to an 
attack of d'Aulney's farm-house, five or six miles from his fort. 
At the instant Wannerton knocked at the door it was opened, 
and he received a fatal shot and fell, one of his companions was 
wounded, and a French resident was slain. The others in the 
house surrendered ; and the assailants, in the work of waste, 
killed the cattle and set the house on fire.f They then proceed- 
ed to Boston widiout booty, or any other reward, than censure. 

So highly incensed was the injured General by this rash and 
unprovoked expedition, that at first no excuses, not the blood of 
Wannerton himself, would appease his rage. He determined to 
remain neutral no longer — and uttering the severest threats, that 
he would make prize of every colony vessel, found eastward of 
Penobscot ; and accordingly issued commissions for the purpose. 

But repentance is the consequence, and oftentimes the merit of 
hasty vows. The Governor, at Boston, required of him an ex- 
planation ; reminding him of the violent manner in which he had 
seized upon Penobscot, and upon certain English colonists and 
their goods, at the Isle of Sables. ' Yet,' said he, ' I inform 
' you, that no hostile act against either French or Dutch is allow- 
' ed ; la Tour cannot expect any more succours from this place j 

* a merchant's trade is permitted between us and St. John's ; and 

• rest assured, it mill be protected.' Afterwards d'Aulney ac- 

* Winthrop calls liiin " Waverton," p. 341. 

t Jlitbbard's .Y". E. p. 485.— This was at Penobscot.— 1 Hutch. Hiit. p. 
125. 



316 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1644. knowledged he had been hasty ; having received command from 

his sovereign, to hold a friendly intercourse with all the English.* 

D'Auinev's To show the cival authorities at Boston a late commission from 

with Massa- the t rcnch cabinet, which denounced la Tour and his wife as 

chusetts. . , . . ■, ^ , 

traitorous deserters,— giving command to arrest them ; and, further- 
more, to negotiate a treaty with the government of iMassachu setts ; 
the Ruler at Penobscot sent thither M. .Marie, Oct. 4, on a mis- 
sion, with credentials and ten attendants. Unexpectedly, he was 
there informed, that ?»ladaine la Tour had, after a passage of six 
months, arrived at Boston from London, three weeks belore him, 
and only eight days after her husband's departure for St. John's ; 
and that she had hardly escaped capture by d'Aulney, ofl^ Cape 
Sable, even though she was secreted under hatches. 

In the negotiation commenced, the Governor strove for provis- 
ional terms, by which the belligerent rivals might become recon- 
ciled to each other. — No, said 3Iarie, nothing but submission will 
save la Tour's head, if he be taken ; nor will his wife have any 
passport to St. John's, for she is known to be the cause of his 
contempts and rebellion. Nay, the vessel that shall admit her a 
passenger, will be liable to seizure. On the other hand, the Gov- 
ernor refused to make any stipulation for assisting d'Aulney, or 
preventing an intercourse with la Tour. 
Treatv.— Several articles of treaty, however, received the signatures of 
the Governor and of M. Marie, f October 8, which were to be 
ratified, or rejected, as it might be deemed politic, either by 
d'Aulney, or the Commissioners of the United Colonies. By 
these, a preliminary peace was established : all hostile acts in 
future were to be deferred, till after amends demanded had 
been refused ; and both parties were allowed to enjoy the rights 
of trade to any place, without limit or restraint. J 

Never had a capitulation been more grateful to the interests 
and views of Maine and the more eastern plantations. They 
knew their defenceless condition 5 and they had entertained many 
fears, that d'Aulney, in a fit of passion and haste to avenge inju- 

* Winthrop's Jour. p. 356. 

f Marie signed as " Commissioner of Monsieur d'AnKnej, knig-bt, Gov- 
" ernor and Lieutenant-General for his Majesty, the Xing' of Franco, in 
" Acadia, a Province of New-France." — [Iubjard\i «V. E. p. 4S8. 

I Viintlirop's Joi!ri;al, p. 3.")7, :>6i. „ 



Oct. 8. 



Chap. VII.] OF MAINE. ' 317 

ries or affronts, mieht take their vessels or plunder the inhab-A.D. i644. 
itants. 

Misery and contempt, folly and meanness, mark the contro- .| j...^ 
versv of these two ambilioiis Frenchmen: for civil war never riv;!! ^^al- 
reflects a baser image in miniature, than wlicn it is reduced to 
personal quarrels, or the punctilious points of duelists. Our 
regrets are deep and many, that the English colonists, and nuirh 
more the government, ever had any concern in the affair : — For it 
was impossible to live in amity with both. At one time d'Aulney 
pressed an English colony-coaster into his service, and compelled 
the master to go with him to St. John's, in order to communicate 
through him to la Tour the new arret, and ensure a safe return 
of the messenger. He was otherwise often an offender ; and by 
reason of his threats, the frequent and successful applications of 
his foe to the rulers of Massachusetts, and the measures adopted 
or opposed by them ; the people were unhappily divided through 
the whole country into parlies. 

Madame la Tour, unable to visit her husband or home, com- . , 

' Madame la 

menced two suits at law, one was a2;ainst l^avlcv, the master, for 'four's 
transportmg her to Boston and not to St. John's, whither she was 
bound ; the other was against Berkley upon the charter-party, 
for an unnecessary detention of six months on board, owing to a 
circuity of voyage for the sake of a gainful trade. The trials 
before the Court of Assistants lasted four days ; in which she 
labored to shew her damages, to be equal to the cost of a force 
and outfit, sufiicient to cope with her enemy, in the event of a 
rencounter ; and extravagant as the verdicts of the juries may 
appear, they gave her £2,000. With this money, obtained from 
the proceeds of the cargo, she chartered three London ships in 
Boston harbor, and proceeded to St. John's.''^ 

When d'Aulney was ai)i)rized of her flisrht, or rather departure, r^,. , 

■' '■'■ ^ ^ ^ r J D Aulney. 

he was excessively chagrined, for one of his schemes was now 
Irustrated ; he having had the fullest intentions of making her his 
illustrious captive. In this malignant warfare, chivalrous gallan- 
try, once the pride of Frenchmen, seems to have lost its charac- 



* Winlhrofs Jour. p. 3G3 — 4.— Here the Journal closes. Afterwards tlie 
recorder of tlie Court and one of the jurymen, were arrested in London 
and compelled to find bonds for £l,OoO, to answer in a Court of Admiralty 
—where they were discharg-ed.— //M^yfenrfr* A". E. p. 4S1. 



318 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1645. ter ; and the married wife was marked for triumphant seizure. 
Jealous now of Massachusetts to a greater degree than ever, he 
determined to consider the obh'gations of the late treaty with her 
government as broken ties ; and his king's directions relative to the 
English, as nullities. He knew, the protestant interest in France 
was sinking ; his monarch was a child ; and the administration 
was too much distracted with foreign and domestic wars, too fee- 
ble and too partial, to arraign him for his conduct, provided he 
His expedi- actcd zcalously the part of a catholic. From the friars and other 
feat. treacherous fellows, dismissed by lady la Tour after her arrival 

home, he had information, that her husband was on a cruise in 
the bay of Fundy ; and his garrison being supplied with only 50 
men and poor provisions, might be easily captured. Therefore 
the Commander of Penobscot, proceeded thither early in the 
spring ; and meeting with a New-England vessel off the coast of 
the peninsula, laden with supplies for his enemy, he made prize 
of her, turning the crew upon a desolate island, without fireworks, 
gun or compass ; and proceeded on with his prize. A miserable 
wigwam was their only shelter ; the snow was deep, and a part of 
their clothing was withholden from them by their piratical captor. 
Arriving in the harbor of St. John's, d'Aulney moored his 
ship in a well-chosen position, near the fort ; and then discharged 
his ordnance upon it, with considerable effect. But he was con- 
tending with a heroine of consummate valor : — She returning the 
fire with such .spirit, that 20 of his men were killed — 13 were 
wounded ; and his ship was so much shattered and disabled, that 
he was forced to warp her away under the shelter of a bluff to 
prevent her from going to the bottom. 

On his return, he took the plundered crew from the Island 
after ten days' suffering, and sent them homeward in an old shal- 
lop, without the necessary comforts of life. 

Massachusetts, justly incensed by his base conduct, accused 
him of breaking a sacred treaty, and demanded immediate satis- 
His conduct faction. But he refused to admit into his presence the messen- 
CoTonSsI'"" ger, till he had explained how la Tour's wife effected her return 
home ; and then he charged the colony with assisting his mortal 
enemy ; killing his domestic animals ; and burning his build- 
ings ; and furthermore, added he, — I warn you to beware of 
my sovereign's resentments. — It is true, the messenger replied, he 
is a mighty prince, and also one of too much honor to com- 



Chap. VII.] OF Maine. 319 

mence a rash attack; yet should he, we trust in a God, who isA.D. 1645. 

the infinite arbiter of justice. When the messenger furthermore 

informed d'Auhiey, that the treaty negociated by Marie, had 

been ratified by the Commissioners of the United Colonies, 

he utterly refused to give it the sanction of his own si>;nature, 

till all difficulties were settled. Still, said he, ' so much more is 

' honor with me than emolument, that I will wait for an explan- 

* atory answer till next spring ; and in the mean time, there shall 

' be no act of hostility on my part.' 

Impossible as it evidently was to enjoy peace and a free trade, 
with both the contending Generals at the same time ; the Gover- 
nor and magistrates of Massachusetts resolved upon farther ne- 
gociation rather than war, so long as it could be managed upon 
honorable grounds. The place and manner were questions of de- 
bate. Some thought it would neidier be wise nor consistent with 
the rules of etiquette, to go and treat with d'Aulney in liis own 
castle, supposing Pemaquid would be a fitter place. Others saw 
an expediency in such approaches to one, who professed to stand 
so much upon his ' honor ;' when he, being apprized of their delib- 
erations, sent them a note, to trouble themselves no farther upon 
the subject, for he should commission messengers in due time, to 
wait upon them and settle difficulties. 

The delay was long and unexpected, extending even to the icjg. 
20th of the next September, (A. D. 1646,) when three commis- ('j'X''im^ 
sioners of his, IMarie, Louis, and his Secretary, arriving in Bos- |\Ki"ssach"!* 
ton, were received with all the testimonies of respect due to their ^*^"*' 
master. After a review of mutual grievances, the commission- 
ers, in the sequel, demanded £800 damages, for injuries done 
d'Aulney at diflerent times. But the Governor and magistrates 
thought the colonists were the greater sufferers : — nevertheless, 
to evince their high sense of justice and honor, and to give 
d'Aulney satisfaction, on a re-establishment of the former treaty, 
they made him a flattering present. This was an elegant sedan 
worth 40 or £30, which being sent by a Mexican V^iceroy to iiis 
sister in the West Indies, fell into the hands of Capt. Cromwell, 
and was presented by him to the Governor.* 

By protracting the negociation, d'Aulnev had been successful,..,. , 
in deterring the English colonists from trading at St. John's, or '""^ '» '^'>'"- 



* ritibbarrl's N. E. \\ 49t> 



320 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1646. affording his enemy succours. His vigilance was unremitting ; — 
he being often made acquainted, probably by the treacherous 
friars, with every movement and the true condition of la Tour ; 
who himself appeared to be destitute both of prudence and 
sagacity. Finding his provisions short in the close of the winter, 
he ventured to cruise from place to place in search of supplies ; 
leaving his fort and his estate in the care of his wife ; who, though 
a wise and valiant woman and a discreet manager, well worthy 
of his unlimited confidence, was at this time greatly needing and 
highly deserving the experience and energetic assistance of a hus- 
band, in trials so severe and fatal. 

A.D. 1647. In April, General d'Aulney, at a favorable moment, again 
brought all his naval force into the harbor of St. John's ; and 
commenced with great spirit a cannonade of the fort. In the 
assault twelve of his men were killed and several were wounded. 

D'Auinev ^^^ against all opposition, he was able finally, after a short though 

^ptures la ggyere siege, to scale the walls, when he made la Tour's wife a 
prisoner ; putting, it is said, all the others, both English and 
French to the sword. The amount of plunder, consisting of 
ordnance, plate, jewels, household-stuff, and other personal prop- 
erty, which he carried away, probably exceeded £10,000. 

This catastrophe taught la Tour the folly of presumption. 
Exposed as he was at all times to capture ; duty and honesty as 
well as prudence, required him to make the hands of friends the ,, 
depositories of his effects : For, in this event, his own ruin wasj 
not all. Many New-England merchants, who were his creditors, 
were compelled to place their debts on the leaf of total loss. 
One of the greatest sufferers was Gibbons, whom he was owing 
more than £2,500, for monies and means furnished him, four 
years before, when he was in great distress. To secure himsel) 
more amply. Gibbons had taken, May 13, 1645, a revised mort- 
gage of all his debtor's real and personal estate in Acadia ; ex- 
cepting his frigate and a territory, about 72 miles square, upon 
the westerly end of the great peninsula. Of all the property sc 
pledged, he also took formal possession, the same year ; 'yet he 
derived thence no avails towards the repayment or discharge o: 
his demand.* 

* L'd Tour gave Gibbons an inventory and deed of his personal estate, 
vessels, barques, and boats, conditioned, that if he paid Gibbons £2,084, and 



Chap, vn.] OF Maine. 321 

The end of la Tour's accomplished wife was tragical. Driven A- 1>. 1647. 
from her native country by the sword of catholic persecution, and/^'^^'^^'o'".'" 
separated from her husband in a season of the greatest anxiety 
and trouble, she soon sunk under the weigiit of her complicated 
afflictions. Her home and her estate were gone — she was bereft 
of all that was dear or desirable in life — her lofty spirit could not 
endure the ideal dishonor of imprisonment, in the castle of her 
most inveterate enemy — and, within three weeks after she was 
made a prisoner, she died of grief. 

Her wretched husband visited Newfoundland, in eager hopes ^a Tour's 
of assistance from Sir David Kirk,* a great trader of the age. allsence^"^ 
Being unable in that way to obtain encouragement, he took pas- 
sage in one of his vessels for Boston ; where he had the 
courage to present schemes to his former friends for reviving his 
fortune, and to urge his pleas for the necessary help. He found 
several merchants, who still had confidence in his integrity ; and 
some of them, at length, furnished him with a vessel, manned by 
Englishmen and Frenchmen, under a master who was neither, 
and supplied with commodities suitable for the Indian traffic, 
worth £400. 

La Tour sailed about the middle of winter for the Nova Scotia 
peninsula ; and when he had arrived opposite Cape Sable, he de- 
veloped the baseness of his soul. Consummate in the arts of in- 
trigue and disguise, he conspired with the master and five of his 
own countrymen to drive the Englishmen ashore, and run away 
with the vessel and her cargo. In executing the piratical project, 
he was violently resisted ; and fought in person, shooting one En- 
glish sailor in the face with his own pistol. 

This part of the crew, so barbarously turned adrift in the depth 
of winter, wandered up and down the coast, 15 days, in extreme 
sulTering ; till unexpectedly they were met by a party of Mick- 
mack Indians, who treated them with a generosity highly credita- 
ble to the attributes of human nature. It is their due, further to 
add, that they manifested great nobleness in their conduct ;f 
for they received the forlorn mariners into their wigwams, ra- 
the interest, by Feb, 20, 1652, the estate was to be again la Tour's — 1 Haz, 
Coll. p 541 — 1 — where the indenture is entire and the bond in latin. 

* See Ante, A. D. 1628. + Hubbard's N. E. p. 498. 

Vol. I. 28 



322 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 164S. freshed them with venison and the best food they had, kindly 
loaned theui a shallop, and provided an Indian pilot, to assist tliem 
in getting home. Yet it was not till the following spring, (1G48,) 
three months after they left Boston, that these unhappy men, 
with all their exertions, and the kind assistance of the natives, 
were enabled to effect a safe return. La Tour went to parts 
unknown ; some supposing he had taken a trip to Hudson's 
bay ;* — as nothing was heard of him for more than two years. 

Nat'.ve-i nii(t B,^,t thou2;h the Mickmacks of that Province were at this period 

the French. ^ . ,, . i -n i r i ■ i 

friendly to the whites oi all nations ; the t rench found in the 
Mohawks a most deadly scourge. That ferocious and brave 
people, no force had been formed in Canada sufficient to sub- 
due. No arts could tame them. — Massachusetts, though re- 
quested by the Canadian Governor, wholly declined any inter- 
ference, for, ' never,' said slie, ' have the Mohawks done wrong 
' to the English, and they may always be a barrier in cases of emer- 
' gency or rupture.' Even Father Dreuillettes, the great apos- 
tle to the Indians of Nova Scotia, was sent to Boston from Can- 
ada upon the same errand, without success. — Consequently, 
after the Mohawks had succeeded in subduing the Hurons, they 
determined to extirpate entirely the Canadian French, by a gen- 
eral massacre. f Alarmed by this news, the latter endeavored 
to shield themselves against destruction, by redoubling their ef- 
forts to secure the good-will of all the other natives within their 
acquaintance ; displaying much apparent friendship ; applying the 
arts of catholic worship ; and inducing the sanctimonious Jesuits, 
to accommodate their zeal and instructions to tlie same desirable 
end : and thereby, no doubt, a much greater degree of French 
influence was attained among them, — especially among the Al- 
gonquins and the Eastern tribes. On the other hand to check 
the current, and inculcate, if possible, the protestant doctrines 
with more effect ; a " Society for projyagating the Gospel in 
JVew-England,^^ among the natives, by visits, schools, and ser- 
A. D. 16<19. mons, was incorporated, A. D. 1G49, by act of Pailiainent. 

No odier place in this eastern region was so much the resort 
of catholic missionaries, as the fortress of d'Aulney. He was for 
several years sole ruler of the country, and a religious zealot. 
But we hear little of him during the last four years of his life. 

* SuUivau, p. 282. f T> Jefrys, p. 100.-3-5.— I Ilolmet" A. Ann. p. 344. 



Chap, vii.] of Maine. 323 

He died, A. D. 1651 : and the next year, la Tour returned and a. d. igso, 

.,,.., 1G31, 1632. 

married his widow. 

All the rormer possessions of la Tour in Nova Scotia, being 
now resumed by him ; very strong expectations were entertained in mirries iho 
Massachusetts and Maine, that he would do his creditors justice. d'Auiney. 
But they were wholly disappointed. La Tour thought more of 
present enjoyment, than of old friends. During his second con- 
nexion, he had several children, — he was seldom absent from his 
Province ; and when the only daughter and child of his wife, 
by her former husband, became a canoness of St. Omers, she 
bequeathed to her half brothers and sisters her whole inheritance. 

Twelve years' predatory warfare between two ambitious rivals, 
— the subjects of the same crown, produced effects highly inju- 
rious to the settlements in the Province of Maine, and the plan- 
tations farther eastward. Sometimes they committed great 
wrongs and even depredations ; their menaces frequently excited 
alarming apprehensions ; free trade was interrupted ; and it was 
always difficult for the people, so to adjust their conduct by the 
maxims and rules of prudence, as to keep themselves out of the 
quarrel. The principles of d'Aulney's great and boasted honor 
were uniformly the servants of passion or interest. 

He furnished the natives with firearms and ammunition. The naiives 
and taught them the great power and use of the gun.* His^Ii'^i,'.','^!^;"* 
priesthood, consisting wholly of friars, made the savages be- *'""^''"''*- 
lieve, that catholic rites and ceremonies were the essentials of 
religion ; and that the dictates of the missionaries were equiva- 
lent to the precepts of Divine authority. Whereas the ortliodox 
puritans carefully withheld from the Indians the hunting gun, so 
necessary among them to obtain the supports of savage life ; 
while their pious missionaries very honestly instructed them, 
that real religion consisted in regenerating the affections of the 
heart; in the immaculate purities of life; and in the practices 
and dispositions towards others, which we would wish them to 
exhibit towards us. But these were refinements, which the un- 
tutored, unenlightened savages could not understand. The usages 
of retaliation had acquired a kind of sanctity among them, which 
they believed nature herself tolerated. Indulgences, and super- 
stitious forms, as allowed by the Jesuits, were altogether more 



* 1 Hutchinson's Hist, p. 127—159. 



324 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. L>. 1552. accordant with their notions and habits, than the self-denying 
doctrines of restraint, and the rigid precepts of reform, as taught 
by the protestant missionaries. 
The French Since this region has been in the occupancy of the French, 
beiilemeius. ^gitj^gj, tjjg settlements at Penobscot, at Mount Desert, at Machias, 
at St. Croix, nor the places eastward,* had flourished. Most of 
the French emigrants were ignorant, poor and unenterprising ; the 
government was of a despotic military character ; and the com- 
manders, as we have seen, were perpetually contending. The 
social regulations were under the direction of the ecclesiastics ; 
rights and wrongs were not treated nor regarded in a proper 
manner ; and no man of good sense and intelligence dwells con- 
tentedly, where life and property are insecure. 

* These were at St. Johns, Quako, Petudiac, Gaspe^ Port-Rojal,Ie Heve, 
Cape Sable and other places. 

N. B. Mr. Vines who was ill-treated and suffered by these Frenchmen, 
la Tour and d'Aulney, removed to Barbadoes, West Indies ; — where he 
retrieved his pecuniary circumstances ; and in 1647 — 8 wrote letters to 
Gov. VVinthrop, who appears highh' to esteem him.— .See these letters in 
J'^ulsom^s Saco and Biddeford, p. 71 — 3. 



Chap, viii.] of Maine. 325 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Four civil divisions of this Eastern Country — Province of Maine 
as bisected — The people combine — Governor, Councilors and ad- 
ministration — Lygonia under Rii^by — Cleaves his Deputy-Pres- 
ident — The Court of Assistants — Death of Rigby — Sagadaliock 
territory — Pemaquid patent and the Droicne right — The Brown 
and Toppan Rights — Parker's Island, Arrowsick and Jcrcmy- 
squam — Wiscasset — Cowseagan Claim — Evils of conflicting titles 
— Penobscot country — The, four different characters of govern- 
ment, ivithin the limits of the present 3Iainc. 

In returning to the civil history of Maine, we are necessarily a.I) i647. 
reminded of the four great political sections into which we find it '" 
divided. These are, 1 , the restricted province of Gorges, extend- [y'lJ'j' ^'^'*"" 
ing to Kenncbunk river ; 2, Lygonia ; 3, The Sagadahock terri- 
tory; and 4, the region between the waters of Penobscot and 
Passamaquoddy. 

The Province of Maine, bisected in the manner previously 

1 11-1 1- rr^, / 'St. The 

stated, was labonng under great discouragements. The people Provi.ice o* 
were troubled and disheartened. Unable satisfactorily to deter- 
mine what course of measures to pursue, the Provincial author- 
ities, in June, 1647, addressed a letter to the Lord Proprietor; 
stating the unhappy condition into which the late decision in favor 
of Rigby had thrown his plantations, and requesting him to give 
them instructions in this emergency. 

But they received no reply. They knew he was a man of 'j-|,e Ad- 
advanced age ; and a crown officer in the civil wars then raging """"'*i'"a"on 
in England. Furthermore, a rumor of his death was in circula- 
tion, the origin or truth of which could not be satisfactorily ascer- 
tained. In this state of doubt and suspense, it was considered 
most prudent, to act under the charter ; and accordingly a Gen- 
eral Court was convoked at Wells, October, 1 648, when Edward 
Godfrey was re-elected Governor ; and Richard Leader, Nicholas 
Shapleigh, Thomas Withers,* and Edward Rishworth, who had 

* Sullh'an writes his name " Withers," p. 320 — 343. — He lived in Kit- 
terv. 



326 '^^^E HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A.D. iG-ia. been Councillors the two preceding years, were again chosen to 
the same office. As soon as the government was organized, anoth- 
er address w;as prepared and transmitted to England, wuh more 
earnest solicitiide for directions in their political affairs. An 
anxious year elapsed without any return, and without any further 
intelligence, than the confirmation of Sir Ferdinando's death. 

The certainty of this event induced the people of Wells, Geor- 
geana, Kittery, and perhaps the Isles of Shoals, to hold a popular 

AD. 1649. convention at Georgeana, in July (1649) for the purpose of a 
general consultation ; when a discussion was had upon their rights, 
duties, and difficulties. ' To promote the settlement and the 
' greatest good of the country, has been,' said they, ' our un- 
' changing purpose ; in which we have endeavored to manage 

* and regulate its affairs, according to the express powers given in 
' the charter to the Lord Proprietor ; the ordinances established 

* by him and the Provincial General Court ; and the laws and 
' usages of England. But most of his Charter Councillors have 
' departed the Province — the Parliament of England has com- 
' manded us, not to intermeddle with the patent to Mr. Rigby — 
' and since Sir Ferdinando's death, no instructions have been re- 
' ceived, nor can any be reasonably expected from the parent 
' country, so long as it is filled with its present distractions, and 

* involved in civil war.' 

Doubts were entertained too, whether the powers of the charter, 
or at least the administration of government, did not expire with 
the Lord Proprietor ; and perhaps the inhabitants were fearful of 
displeasing Parliament, if they acted under that instrument. — 
Therefore, after premising that the privileges of Agamenticus, or 
Georgeana should be preserved entire, they formed themselves 
pact form- into a ' Social Compact,' thus :— " JVe, with our free and volun- 
* ■ " tary consent, do bind ourselves in a hody politic and comhina- 

" iion, to see these parts of the Country and Province regulated, 
" according to such laws as have formerly been exercised, and 
" such others as shall be thought meet, but not repugnant to the 
*^ fundamental laws of our native Country.''''* 

It was further ordained, that a Governor and five or six Coun- 
cillors, magistrates or assistants, should be annually chosen, " by 
most voices," or majorities of the voters ; and in proceeding to. 

* 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 103. 



IJhaP. VIII.] OF MAINF,. 327 

111 immediate election, they chose the same Governor and Coun- a-d. ka9. 
iillors, who had filled the offices the preceding year ; — Mr. 
^ishwortli being re-appointed Secretary or Recorder. Thus or- 
ganized anew, the administration was continued in the same 
lands, the two following years ; during which, the proceedings 
vere conformed substantially, to the provisions of Gorges' char- 
:er, and the usages already prevailing. Determined, according 
:o the dictates of wisdom and prudence, to be obedient subjects 
o the predominant powers of the realm, they professedly approved 
)f their measures ; and when they heard, that Charles their sov- 
ereign was no more, and that the reins of government were in 
he hands of the Commons, they readily took directions from 
:hat Body. 
The Lys^onian Province embraced a far greater extent of 2.i. Tiie 

. . ' I'roMiice of 

errilory, than that of Maine as lately restricted, and probably as Lysonia 

.',,.,.., ,, , , aiul ilsgov- 

Tiany mhahitants ; but in neither ot the governments, were the emmpnt. 
ines distinctively drawn betvreen the departments of legislation, 
)f judicature, and of executive autliority. The same tribunal 
nade laws — tried causes — and carried their sentences into exe- 
:ution. The administration under Gorges possessed the most of 
system and energy ; — that under Rigby was the most popular ; 
md both were regularly organized. Rigby's politics and the 
sentiments of his provincial officers, were happily in unison with 
;he triumphant republicans in England, and the puritan rulers in 
Massachusetts.* 



* S3 much only of the records of (he General Assembly in this Province 
'Lypronia] have, on diligent inquiry, hecn found, as to sliew, tliat its pro- 
leeiiinjs were condnctcd with regularity. For instance, a " petition of 
Robert Jordan to Alexander Rigby, President, George Cleaves, Deputy- 
President, togetlier with the whole body of tlie General Assembly of 
Lygonia, assembled thi$22d day of September, 1648," &c.— was " referred 
by lliis Assembly, September 24, to a Committee of this House, viz. to 
Mr. George Cleaves, Mr. William Royal, Mr. Ricliard Foxwell, and Mr. 
Mcnry Watts, to be set on the 10th of October next, at Riciiinond's Island, 
tonr.ihe report of the state of things jictitioned for, to this Court at the next 
Sessions; under the hand of the clerk of the Assembly, Peyton Cook." 
The Committee made their report, in December following, and the decree 
of the Court upon it, iras afterwards adjudged legal and valid, by the au- 
thorities of Massachusetts. So ' at a Court holden at RlacU-point, 

the last day of May, 1648, touching (he administration of P. Cooke, upon 
the estate of R. V\'illiams, this entry is found:'— "We the judges for the 
Province of Lygonia, do by our authority, ratify and confirm nnfo the 



328 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1649. George Cleaves, under the title of Deputy-President, was chief- 
magistrate of Lygonia, from the time of purchase to the death 
of Col. Rigby. The Court of Assistants, in 1650 — 1, so far as 
we can learn, seem to have been Robert Jordan, an episcopal 
minister of Casco ; Arthur McWorth oi VxQsnm^scoX'* Henry 
Joscelyn of Black-point, who was a Councillor under Gorges, and 
might have become reconciled to Rigby ; Thomas Williams and 
Robert Boothe, both of Saco, and Morgan Howell of Cape- 
Porpoise : — John Wadleigh, Jonas Baily, Thomas Morris and 
Hugh Moseer, were men of some distinction ; yet, if they were 
clothed with any public trust, their political or official character is 
not ascertained. Cleaves, it is believed, held his Court principally 
at Casco and at Saco ;f — the latter place having been the seat 
of government under different administrations, since A. D. 1636. 
A. D, 1650. Sir Alexander Rigby died in August, 1650, both esteemed and 
Sir Aiexcui- laj^iented. Besides bavins; a seat in Parliament, and a Colo- 

cler Kigby s o ' 

death. ^gj'g commission — he was admitted to an order of knighthood, 
and thus acquired the thle of " Right honorable Sir," appurte- 
nant to the honor conferred. 

The Sagadahock territory included several parts and settle- 

3d. Sngn- mcuts, Connected by no particular bond of union or government. 

riiory. It extended from Kennebeck river to Penobscot. The principal 
plantation within its limits was Pemaquid, — a place of general 
resort for mariners and fishermen in the contiguous waters, and 
often visited by persons passing and repassing in vessels, between 
the French settlements and the English towns and liarbors west- 
ward. It was the seat of government within the patent, to El- 
bridge and Aldsworth, and had been settled a fourth part of a 
century or more. The chief magistracy was still in the hands 
of Abraham Shurte, Esq. whose administration, with a few select 

said P. Cooke, the aforesaid administration, according to the full tenor 
thereof. Witness our hands, under our Provincial Seal, the day and year 
above written. (Signed) G. Cleaves, 

II. Joscelyn, 
R. Jordan." 
See Folsom''s Saco, Sfc. p. 61. 
» Mc Worth's house erected about 1633, was on the main land, 3 or 4 
miles southwardly of Clapboard Island. — 2 Mass. Rec. p 240. 

i-One of the late entries of this Court of Lygonia was in 164S — Jordan 
ad'm. of Winter's Estate against Trelawney ; and execution was ex- 
tended on lands in Casco, Purpoodnck and Spurwink, before mentioned. 



Chap, viii.] OF MAINE. 329 

Assistants, was rather an advisatory conservation of the peace, A. D. 1650. 
than that of distributive justice and executive command. 

The Pemaquid patent itself u^as uhimately resolved, into what penwouid 
has been called the " Drowne Claim.^^ It was originally a joint- |)'',!o^vne'^ 
tenancy to Robert Aldsvvorlh and Giles Elbridgc, and enured ^iaim. 
wholly to the latter by survivorship. When his son, John El- 
bridge, who inherited it, died, he devised it Sept. 11, 1G4G, to 
his brother Thomas, afterwards a resident for a period at Pema- 
quid. In 1650, the latter mortgaged Monhegan and Damaris- 
cove to Richard Russell ; and at the same time sold half of the 
patent, half of the household furniture, and half of the cattle to 
Paul White, for £200. Immediate possession was given by 
Thomas Elbridge's attorneys, Henry Joscelyn and Robert Jor- 
dan, in presence of Arthur Mc Worth, and Friend Lister. On 
the 27th of April, 1653, Elbridge and White, conveyed their re- 
spective moieties to said Russell and one Nicholas Davison ; and 
the latter taking a conveyance from Russell, in 1657, of all his 
right, became the sole proprietor of the Pemaquid patent. One 
of his daughters married with Shern Drowne, and hence the origin 
of this claim. It embraced " all the town of Bristol, and part 
" of the towns of JVew- Castle and JYobleborough.^^* 

" The Brown i?/Wj^" is another important claim. It has its „ 

" '■ Brown 

origin in a deed from a couple of Sagamores, July 15, 1625, to rigin. 
John Brovvnf of New-Harbor. Its southerly line or boundary, ran 
from Pemaquid falls to Brown's house, on the eastern shore ; and 
from this line extended northerly 25 miles, including Muscongus 
Island, and covering " the most of Bristol, all the towns of JVo- 
" bleborough and Jefferson, and part of the town of JVew- Castle.*' 
Brown, in August, 1660, conveyed to one Gould and his wife, 
eight miles square, about midway of the original grant ; and Wil- 
liam Stilton, who married their daughter, hved on the premises 
about the year 1720. John Brown, the namesake and heir of 



*See the report of the Commissioners, in 1811, relative to the difGculties in 
the County of Lincoln, p. 7 — 12 — 23 — Documents 33 — 80. — Russell and 
Davison lived in Charlcstown, Mass. Drovrnc was of 13oston. — See ante. A. 
D. 1623— 30— 36, one/ po«<. Chap. 14, 16G4. 

f Sec Commissioners^ Report o/'lSll, p. IG— 23. — Documents p. 167 — 170. 
Brown's deed is signed by " Captain John Somerset," and " Unnongoit," 
Indian Sagamores. — The deed to Gould and wife, was supposed to be about 
a third part of the whole Indian purchase. 
Vol. I. 29 



330 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1630. jjjs father, lived at New-Harbor, probably in the paternal man- 
sion. A survey was afterwards made of the different claims j 
and James Noble and William Vaughan, in the right of Brown, 
" improved all the lands lying on both sides of the Damariscotta 
" Fresh Pond, to the head of it ; also on the west side of the 
" river half way to Sheepscot, and on the easterly side nearly ta 
" Pemaquid Pond." 

Tappaii Though " the Tappan Right" was of later date, it extensively 

interfered with the others, and ought to be mentioned in this place. 
It originated in three Sagamore deeds to Walter Phillips, dated 
A. D. 1661 — 62 — 74; and embraced "a great portion of the 
" same lands with the Brown Claim." Phillips conveyed to 
Rev. Christopher Tappan, Nov. 10, 1752, a greater part, if not 
all his Indian purchases, under whom surveys were made and pos- 
sessions taken.* Though the colonies of Massachusetts and 
New-Plymouth, as early as 1633, passed acts which forbade such 
purchases from the natives without the license or approbation of 
their Legislatures ; yet they were multiplied in Maine. 

Parker's, A few Others ought to be subjects of remark, before we leave 

and Lake's this territory. f One was a purchase of an Indian, in 1649, by 

c aims. JqJiji Parker of the Island since called by his name, on which 
he then resided ; and of all land on the west bank of the Kenne- 
beck from Winnegance-creek to the sea, and westward to the wa- 
ters of Casco-bay. Another sale was made by a chief the same 
year to Christopher Lawson, which he assigned, in 1653, to 
Thomas Clark and Sir Biby Lake. J This was finally confined 
below the northerly line of the present Woolwich, and embraced 
the most of that town. The same Thomas Clark and one Roger 

Arrowsick. Spcucer bought, in 1660, Arrowsick Island of a Sagamore, — 
a conveyance in which Lake was afterwards interested. One 

Jeremi- Robinhood, a Sagamore, in 1649, sold Jeremisquam Island to 
John Richards, a resident; and in 1654, the same Indian con- 
veyed all the easterly part of Woolwich, to Edward Bateman, 



squam. 



* The first deed to Phillips, wassig;Ded bj' Jos!e and Agilike ; the 2d by 
Wittinosc and Erledug'les ; and the 3d by Erledngles.— See Coin. Report of 
1811, p. 12—16.— Documents, Tp. 82— lOS.—'PhiWips^ two first deeds embraced 
lands on the west side of Damariscolta, now New-Castle, extending to 
Sheepscot river. 

•)• See Sullivan''s Hist, for dates of several Indian deeds, p.[144 — 149. 

I » Statement of Kennebcck Claims," A. D. 1785, p. 7—8. 



Chap, viii.] of Maine. 331 

and John Brown;* under whose titles the lands are holden. a.d. 1650 
This covered a part of Lawson's claim. — George Davie, who » 
was an early settler near Wiscasset-point, purchased in 1663, of 
the Sagamores in that quarter, a tract one mile or more in width 
on the west side of the Sheepscot, including the present village 
of Wiscasset ; also another large tract on the eastern side of that 
river. These lands came by inheritance and transfer to gentle- 
men of wealth, who in 1734, associated at Boston, under the 
name of " the Boston or Wiscasset Company ;" and were often Wiscasset 
called the ' Jeremisquam and Wiscasset Proprietors.' In 1666 
lands were purchased of the Sagamore, Jack Pudding, which lie 
on Monseag river near Cowsegan Narrows, southeasterly of 
Woolwich, called the " Cowsegan Claim :" and indeed all the Cowsegan. 
lands on both sides of the Kennebeck,f and all tlie principal 
Islands in that vicinity, were purchased of the savage chiefs, 
about 1649, or within the sixteen following years. f 

In these conveyances, different deeds often embraced the same Kviis of 

thfSB con~ 

lands, or otlierwise their lines greatly intersected or clashed with veyances. 
each other ; so that they multiplied perplexities in all the grants 
made here either by die crown, the Council of Plymouth, 
or the Indians. The most of these titles and claims in sub- 
sequent years were revived, and invited to their aid as often 
the complaining proprietor, as the distressed or suffering settler. 
Confusion, lawsuits and expenses were the evils naturally flowing 
from such a source ; — evils which retarded the settlement of the 
country, and rendered the inhabitants indigent and discontented. 
In no other portion of New-England, were legal regulations more 
needed, or the want of them more manifest. Without them, all 
intelligent and discreet people saw, that neither hfe, nor property 
could be secure ; tides to estates were not sound nor permanent ; 
the interests of piety and education were not promoted ; nor the 

* Brown and Bateman lived there in 1666 Sullivan, p. 169. — The early 

settlement was 1660, under Clark and Lake, who built mills there ; [Sir 
B. Lake's petilion to the king, in 1650 ;) and continued their possessions till 
1675. Tlicir fort was near Georgetown meeting--hou6e. Hammond's fort 
was at Stinson's point, on Arrowsick, two miles from the other. — Sullivanf 
p. 172—3. 

t In 1670, there were 20 families on the west, and 30 on the cast bank of 
the Kennebeck. — Sullivan, p. 170. 

\ Swan Island was purchased of Abbagadusset in 1667, by Humphrey 
Davie; and afterwards claimed by Sir John Davie, a sergeant at law. 



332 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1G51. benefits of society in any wise enlarged or established. If the 
lower orders of people lose all reverence for civil authority, 
and are filled with distractions, by reason of numerous political 
changes which are needless ; — what fond expectations of prosper- 
ity and success could be entertained by a people, under merely 
the faintest shadows of government ? — Certainly very few ; — nor 
were they the first to pant even for despotic power which could 
protect them — rather than to enjoy amid hazards and sufferings, 
the freedom of their own wills. 
4th Vfv- '^^^ fourth political division of our present State, denominated 
ion, or Pe- Penobscot, and situated between the river and bay of that name 

nobscoi. ' _ •' 

and Passamaquoddy, is well known to have been for several 

years in the possession of the French. They called it a part 
of Acadia; we, a part of New-England. D'Aulney lived only 
about a year after his victories over la Tour, in unmolested 
command of this territory and Nova Scotia. His death, A. D. 
1651, has been mentioned; and it is remarkable, that Gorges, 
king Charles,"' Governor Winthrop, Rigby and d'Aulney, whose 
names are all connected with our History, should be called from 
the stage of Hie, within the short period of four years. The com- 
mand exercised by la Tour, the successor of d'Aulney, was 
mostly of a military character, without any civil department 
whatever. 
Character If civil authority in these eastern territories of ours, had pos- 

of the east- i i m c ..... , 

em govern- sessed the attributes oi system, energy, retributive justice, and 
f^caxs. provident care, to the degree operativ^e in the other colonies ; 
our advancements in population, wealth and improvement might 
have fully equalled theirs. Our atmosphere was as salubrious 
and healthful, our soil nearly as productive, our water privileges, 
our conveniences for trade, our fisheries and navigation, were all 
superior ; and enjoying the friendship of the natives among us, 
we had reason to repose equal confidence in public safety. But 
our political regulations were crude, injudicious and extremely 
defective. Though the several governments possessed distin- 
guishing characteristics, neither was attractive to emigrants. At 
Penobscot, the ruling power, or government, was Military, — des- 
titute of every property directly promotive of settlement; for 



* Chiirles I. was beheaded J.\:uinry 30, 1649 ; and Governor Winthrop 
died the same year. 



Chap, viii.] of MAtNE. 333 

arms and civil liberties are regulated by different laws. At Pern- A. d, I651. 
aquid, it was mostly conservative, witbout power or proportion, 
to any known extent. All the other settlements and places with- 
in the Sagadahock territory, were wholly destitute even of a civil 
magistracy ; — a circumstance, which, though it may be urged to 
prove the sobriety and peaceablcness of those places, surely did 
not evince very strongly the wisdom and energy of the people. 
In Lygonia, it was proprietary, and of some force and regular- 
ity, though without the constitutional forms and executive vigor, 
necessary to render its rulers and ordinances respected. The 
death of the illustrious Proprietor, had spread a shade over the 
whole Province, and filled the people with doubts, whether all 
political authority and power had not expired with him. In the 
mutilated Province of Gorges, the government was now confed- 
erative. It possessed, it is true, the properties of system and union, 
yet not the strength and ability adequate to self-protection or de- 
fence. 

Many of the Provincials were sufficiently apprized of their 
condhion ; and, perceiving the colonists of New-Hampshire in the 
full enjoyment of privileges and prosperity, since they had be- 
come connected with Massachusetts, were strongly inclined to- 
wards a similar coalescence. Particularly, the inhabitants of 
Kittery were desirous of the event ;* and the government of 
Massachusetts, pleased with the project, saw, that by a new and 
plausible construction of its charter, the object might be attain- 
ed upon the grounds of right and justice. 

* Hutchinson's Coll. p. 311—17. 



"334 '^^^^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Massachusetts' Claim to Maine — Controversy heticeen the General 
Court and the Eastern Provincials — Survey of the eastern boun- 
dary— The dispute continued— Lygonia— Commissioners appointed 
to admit the inhabitants of Maine as freemen — Kittery and York 
submit — Ides of Shoals — Yorkshire established — Courts constitut- 
ed and privileges guarantied — Officers — Deputies from Kittery 
and York to the General Court — The inhabitants of Wells, Saco, 
and Cape-Porpoise admitted freemen — Those places jnadc towns — 
Officers — Regulations — Commissioners' protest — Support of Min- 
isters required — Eastern opposition to 31assacliusctts — Records of 
Yorkshire collected. 
Ai D. 1651. As the charter of Massachusetts colony embraced all the lands 
Massacim- " within the space of three Endish miles, to the northward of the 

sells ex- . ^ ^ 

tends iier " rivcr Merrimack, and to the northward of any and every part 

claims east- , ,- „ , i i i i i • 

ward. " thereof ; — her government contended, that by obvious con- 
struction, all the territory south of a line stretching eastward, 
across the country, from a point three miles north of that riverh 
source, to the same minute of latitude on the seashore, belonged 
to her jurisdiction. 

This was a new claim ; and the General Court at Boston, in 
prosecuting it were quickened in their movements, by reason of 
late reports, that several provincials in Maine, had petitioned 
Parliament for a charter of government; and that others, proba- 
bly the majority, had expressly given a decided preference to be 
connected with Massachusetts.* There was no time to be lost. 
Even the commodiousness of the river Piscataqua, and the irre- 
parable injuries to be sustained, if it were in the possession of any 
other than her friends, were urged as arguments against delays. 

^ss*^of1ier The two branches of the legislature, being determined to pro- 
ceed with all the civilities, which the delicacy of the subject re- 

* Hubbard's JV. E. p. 542.— In years past the Province of Maine had 
pursued a course disagreeable to Massachusetts, both " in their ministry 
" and civil administration. " — Winthrop's Journal p. 275. 



■Gen. Court. 



Chap, ix.] OF MAINE. 335 

quired, directed, at their October session, that addresses be pre- a.d. ic51. 
pared and transmitted to Edward Godfrey and his Council, and 
to the inhabitants at large in the Province of Maine ; acquainting 
them with the grounds and reasons of their claim. They also 
appointed three of their most distinguished citizens, Commission- 
ers, — viz. Simon Bradstreet, a venerable Councillor, Daniel Den- 
nison. Commander-in-chief of the Militia, and William Haw- 
thorne, Speaker of the House ; and gave them instructions to re- 
pair to the Province and admit the inhabitants, by their consent, 
into the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Should they meet with 
opposition, they were directed to protest against all pretended 
combinations, government or exercise of authority therein ; and 
in general to proceed according to the dictates of their dis- 
cretion.* 

The Commissioners made the appointed visit, but returned with- (^ov. God- 
out success. Meanwhile Governor Godfrey convened a Provin- ([^^^ ("(fpar. 
cial Court, Dec. 1, and they resolved to present another pe- '''"'•^"'• 
tition to the House of Commons, which was addressed thus ; — 
" To the right honorable the Council of State appointed by Par- 
" liament ;" — 'We esteem it our greatest honor and safety to be 
' under the present government, established without king or house 

* of lords ; and request the benefit of the common safety and 
' protection of our nation. We beg leave also to state, that divers 
' inhabitants of this Province, by virtue of sundry patents, and 
' otherwise, have for these twenty years been under the power 
' and guidance of Sir Ferdinand© Gorges, who had these parts 
' assigned to him for a Province. But he being dead, and his 

*' son, by reason of heavy losses sustained, taking no care of our 

* political welfare ; and most of the charter Councillors, or Com- 
' missioners, having died or departed the Province, we were under 
' the necessity of combining together for the purposes of govern- 
' ment and self-protection, according to the laws of the realm. 
' It IS our humble prayer, therefore, that our confederative union 
' may be confirmed ; that wc may be declared members of the 
' Commonwealth of England ; that the privileges and imnuuu- 
' ties of frccborn Englishmen, may be granted and secured to 
' ourselves and our posterity, as established rights usually enjoyed 

* 2 Mass. Rec. p. 81. — IJawlliorne is the first Speaker mentioned of re- 
cord. — 1 Ilutcldnsons Hisl. p. 150. [lNote|.] 



336 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1651. ' by other Provincial subjects ; and that the same favors may be 
' bestowed upon us as upon the other colonies.' 

" Per me EDWARD GODFREY, Gov. 
" in behalf of the General Court." 
In resisting the assumptions of IMassachusetts, Godfrey and 
Cleaves, with their respective partizans, who had been till now 
inveterate foes, were naturally drawn into the same lists, as joint 
defendants and coadjutors. For there were apprehensions, that 
if the claim were pursued to its utmost extent, it would take in a 
large part of Lygonia ; and Cleaves, about to visit England, was 
to be the bearer of the petition, and also its advocate at court. 
More confident hopes of his success were entertained through 
the surviving influence of Col. Rigby, whose particular patronage 
Cleaves might urge with the greatest truth and propriety. He 
was also furnished with one argument, thought to be unanswera- 
ble ; — this was the Commissioners' late decision in fitvor of Rig- 
by's Province. The petition itself was drawn up in very courtly 
terms, and he knew the Commons were strongly prepossessed in 
favor of colonial rights and privileges. 
AD. 1652. J^"t Massachusetts, aware of these proceedings, though they 
rija'^sadiu-'^ Were intended to be kept secret, took immediate measures to de- 
setts, fgj^j jj^g petitioners ; and her agents at court with no inconsiderable 
ingemiity, stripped off the veil and exposed the disguise, by shew- 
ing the project to have originated exclusively among American 
royalists. These circumstances and the prevalence of the same 
religious and political sentiments in Massachusetts as in Parlia- 
ment, threw the petition into oblivion. 
North limit Massachusetts now determined to pursue her claim to its far- 

of Mass. _ '■ 

pciienisui- thest extent, and with renovated vigor. At the May session, tlie 
Legislature resolved that the charter-line did extend eastward 
from a place, three miles above the northernmost head of jVIerri- 
mack river; — to discover and establish which, tliey appointed 
Simon Willard and Edward Johnson Commissioners of survey. 
These were directed to procure suitable articles and assistants, 
and with all convenient despatch take " a true observation of the 
latitude, at the place," with dieir utmost skill and ability, and 
make return of their discoveries and services, at the next session 
of the General Court.* 

* 2 JiJass. Rcc. p. 114—15. Throe other Commissioners were also ap- 
pointed to treat witli tlic people of .Maine upon the subject of union. 



Chap, ix.] of Maing. 337 

The skilful artists selected, were John Sherman of Wateitown, A d. i652; 
and Jonathan Ince of Cambridge College. These and the Com- 
missioners made the proper examination, and afterwards returned 
upon their oaths ; — " that at A(|uahatan, the head of the Merri- 
" mack, where it issues out of the lake called Winnepuseakik,* 
" on the 1st day of August, 1652, we found the latitude of the 
" place 43^ 40' 12'' ; besides those minutes allowed for the three 
" miles further north which extend into the lake."f 

Governor Godfrey, in the mean time, addressed a letter to the ^' coXey. 
Court, stating his surprise and resentments at their conduct. An 
attempt to hold the Province of Maine under your charter, said 
he, or by any other legal title, without the pretence either of pur- 
chase, prior possession or anterior claim, and also without the 
peoples' consent, is the height of injustice. Far different treat- 
ment have you received from your eastern neighbors. Yes, 
added he, when that charter of yours was heretofore threatened, 
with a quo warranto, at the Council Board in England, and 
your agents were struck with the muteness of statues ; it was J, who 
answered the objections and obviated the cavils. Hitherto you 
have declared yourselves satisfied, with your own possessions, 
as bounded on a line parallel with the jMerrimack, three miles 
distant from its source, and its northerly bank, following its mean- 
ders to its mouth ; whereas you are now bursting your bounds, 
and stretching your claims across Provinces, to which, till lately, 
no man however visionary so much as imagined you had any 
right. Your commissioners, it is true, have communed with us 
plausibly about equal jtrivileges ; yet such is the charity you have 
heretofore manifested, towards our religion, and other interests, 
that we trust you will excuse us, if we are the more wary of 
your proposals and promises. 

The reply of the General Court, signed by Edward Rawson, Kepiy of 
their Secretary, was of the following tenor : — Court^"* 

Jf'orshipful Sir — Our patent, by Divine Providence, continues 
to be firmly established, under the great seal. It is true, it was 
demanded, yet never prosecuted to final judgment ; and the 
Commonwealth of England has by express recognition since, 

* Perhaps, ' Winnipiseogcc' 

t That is, the point will be at 43", 43', 12", adding- 3 miles to the above 
latitude.— 1 Ha:. Coll. p. 571—2. 

Vol. I. 30 



338 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1652. given it fresh and full validity. Though the " Grand Patent of 
Plymouth" has been dissolved, ours, sanctioned by a Royal 
Charter, has successfully encountered every attack. Nor do we 
now claim an acre beyond its true limits ; and had you attentively 
examined its articles, you must be satisfied with the correctness 
of our construction. For several years, the extent of our juris- 
dictional rights were not fully understood ; and so long as doubts 
remained, — so long as the people of Maine were contented with 
the regular charter-government established among them, and a 
friendly intercourse between them and us, was continued uninter- 
rupted ; we were disposed to forbear, though we have never 
abandoned the pursuit of our utmost claim and right. 

In your resistance, (continued the General Court,) probably a 
majority of the provincial inhabitants are your opponents j for 
they are greatly desirous of being united with us, and they rich- 
ly deserve our protection and assistance. Most heartily we 
thank you, for any services rendered us before the Lords Com- 
missioners of Plantations : but nevertheless, we are bound to in- 
form you that the inhabitants and lands, over which you claim to 
exercise authority, are within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, 
and that we demand our rights ; assuring you at the same time 
that you all shall share equal acts of favor and justice with our- 
selves, should a coalescence be amicably formed. If, however, 
neither rights nor reasons will induce you to hearken, we shall 
continually proies^ against all further proceedings of yours, under 
any pretended patent or combination whatever : And finally, that 
our conduct and accord in this affair may be such, as will be pro- 
motive of God's glory, and the peace of yourselves and us, are 
the aim and prayer of your cordial friends. 

EDWARD RAWSON, Secretary:'* 

GofKre''- Unhappily, this address had no effect towards abating the op- 

2d letter, position and resentments of Godfrey and his adherents. He 

wrote another letter full of complaint and retort, in language of 

this import; — Sir, Our rights are equally invaluable as yours. 

Though you may boast of being owned by the Commons in Par- 
liament, and expect to dwell in safety under the covert of their 
wings ; we also are under the same protective power, and are 
resolved to continue in the possession and exercise of our privi- 



* 1 Haz. Coll. p. 564—6. 



Chap, ix.] OF MAINE. 339 

leges, till that venerable body shall otherwise order. The dissolu- A. D. 1652. 
tion of the Grand Patent, had no more effect upon ours than upon 
yours ; indeed, you have in various ways, for more than 20 years, 
acknowledged the authority of our patent ; and we marvel great- 
ly, at your movements and discontent, more especially since we 
have given you no occasion ; and since it has been solemnly set- 
tled long ago, that your patent should begin on the seashore, 
three miles northwardly of the Merrimack. If according to your 
intimations, there be a party of malcontents among us ; I am 
acquainted with two or three only of that character, and these are 
such as have fallen under the penalties of law. Yet, were they 
tenfold that number, it were neither honorable nor just, to pro- 
ceed against us, on such grounds. No, nor yet, for the un- 
certain or unknown favors which you proffer, ought we to barter 
away our rights and dear bought liberties : It would be trea- 
son. — To talk gravely of artists to settle your latitude, to run 
your lines, and survey your limits, in these parts, is preposterous. 
We ourselves know something of " geography and cosmogra- 
phy" — and our exclusive aim is the peace and good of the coun- 
try. " EDWARD GODFREY, Governor.''* 

To bring this controversy to a speedy conclusion, three Com- Altercation 
missioners from Boston met, by appointment, Godfrey and his Mn^s. Com' 
Council, at Kittery-point, July 11, where they had a spirited con- "lij'^l'i'ie^ru. 
ference, without coming to any terms of reconciliation. The {Ci"i°p 
Commissioners, finding their adversaries inexorable, publicly ■'"'>'*'■ 
proclaimed to the people of Maine, the patent-right, which Mas- 
sachusetts had to govern them as her colonists ; denouncing all 
exercise of authority by the professed rulers of the Province, 
and promising to the submissive inhabitants, the full protection of 
their estates and other rights ; also the same political privileges 
and acts of favor, as if they had always been under the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts. In concluding their mission, they virtu- 
ally absolved the Provincials from all allegiance to Godfrey and 
his associates in authority, after the 10th of the ensuing Octo- 
ber. 

The proclamation and protest were traversed by another, signed 
by Godfrey and each of the Council. In this, they raised their 
voice to a high note of remonstrance against the minatory and 

* 1 Haz. Coll. p. 367—8—9. 



340 'JPHE HISTORY [Vol. i, 

A. D. 1652. despotic treatment received ; — lamenting their fate, that after 
living 20 years in contentment, expending £35,000 in money, 
and enduring innumerable hardships, for the sake of rational civil 
liberty, they must submit to the dictation and control of others, 
against the principles of right and justice, and against their own 
consent. 

But in vain were the pleas of reason and rights, urged against 
dominant powers : — and complaints too were vain ; still, enlightr 
ened citizens, could not but foresee and appreciate the ad- 
vantages of living under the government of a well-organized 
Commonwealth, instead of one which had a name to rule with- 
out the ability to protect. 

Bad coiidi- During these aaitations in Maine, Lygonia was in a still 

lion of Ly- '"' . ... i t-» • • i 

gonia. worse condition. It is not ascertained, that her Frovmcials ever 
entered into an organized civil combination ; nor that they re- 
newed, or revived a regular administration, after Rigby's death. 
Cleaves, who is represented to have been a man of more ambi- 
tion and activity, than of wisdom and fidelity, had gone to Eng- 
land ; leaving the Province to the management of the most 
influential and crafty. Edward Rigby, the heir, in this crisis, 
addressed a letter to the leaders of his Province ; and as it was a 
death warrant to their authority, it is in substance transcribed. 
" To Messrs. Henry Joscelyn, Robert Jordan, Thomas Wil- 
Ri^by's ad-* Hams, Arthur McWorth, Robert Boothe, and Morgan Howell, 
people of ' and to John Wadleigh, Jonas Baily, Thomas Morris, Hugh Mo- 
and end of ' sccr, and all others whom this may concern in Lygonia." 

ernrnfm ' ' Gentlemen : It having pleased the Great Disposer of all 

' things, to call out of this troublesome world my dear father, 
.' and thus to entitle me to the proprietorship of his Lygonian pro-' 
.' vince, I have to state, that I am greatly displeased with the 
' movements and illegal proceedings among you, of which accord- 
' ing to the information derived from his late deputy-president, 
' you are the instigators or advisers. They were unexpected ; 
' nor shall your wrongs and abuses offered to our authority, be 
' overlooked, without due and timely submission. All political 
' power derived from him, you must be aware expired at his 
* death ; and I command you whom I am addressing, and sucli 
' others as have been commissioned by him to be the public offi- 
' cers of the Province, to desist and abstain wholly from further 



Chap, ix.] of maine. 341 

' transactions, virttite efficii, till you have directions from me ; A i). 1G52. 

* which I assure you will be communicated without delay. 

' Heartily, Gentlemen, do I regret to learn, that my father's 
' kindness and generosity towards you, and his confidence in your 
' probity, should be repaid in a manner so entirely prejudicial to 
' his interests and mine. Again let me tell you, that if after re- 
' ceiving this notice, you do not lay aside your private and secret 

* combinations,* and abstain from unlawful measures, and unani- 
' mously join with me, my deputy and other officers in the plans 
' devised to promote the peace and good of the Province, I shall 
' adopt and pursue such a course towards you, as will enforce sub- 
' mission, and effectually rectify all your misdeeds and wrongs. 
' At present, I will not enumerate them, nor dispute with you 
' about them. Suffice it to say, that I conceive all the official acts, 
' either of the deputy-president, the six assistants, the judges, of 
' any other officer whatsoever, in the commission of my father, 
' done subsequently to his decease, which was in August, 1650, 
' are utterl}'' void.f 

' I am not unacquainted with the complaints heretofore made 
' to my father by yourselves and others ; and I wish you to feel 
' confident, that equal justice to all men and in every particular, will 
' be done, so far as it shall consist with my office, power, or duty, 
'To this end, I shall, as soon as convenience will permit, send 
' back Mr. Cleaves, J accompanied by a kinsman of mine, with 
^ commissions to those whom I may think most worthy of trust, 
' and also with instructions ; expecting your cordial concurrence 

* in their appointment, and support in the course of measures 
•' which may be prescribed. — What remain are the respects of him 
••who is your real friend, if you are not your own enemies. 

"EDW. R1GBY."§ 
''London, 19th July, 1652." 

This letter, which arrived at a most fortunate moment for the 
claim of Massachusetts, put an utter end to the expiring govern- 
ment of Lygonia, and left Saco, the seat of it, and other planta-? 

* PerLaps the people had informally combined, iike llicir neighbors, for 
tlio pui-poses of civil g^ovcrniTicnt. 

tTbis implies, they exercised- authority nfter Sir Alexander's death. 

\ Also called " Cleve." — We do not find that any such «■' kinsman" ever 
arrived, or that such commissions were ever received. 

) 1 Haz. Coll p. 571.— Sec York Comity Records, A. D. 1652— :{ 



342 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1652. tions eastward, to act according to the dictates of discretion and 
policy, till he, who could shew a right to rule, might appear. 
Cleaves returned to Casco the following year ; yet it is not ascer- 
tained that he brought any commissions with him, or was attended 
on his voyage by any kinsman of JMr. Rigby's. The patent 
seems to have slumbered in oblivion, till one Tumy, the agent of 
Rigby's heirs, revived the claim to the Province, 48 years subse- 
quently, by presenting a petition to the General Court, praying to 
have it restored to them. But Massachusetts having previously 
purchased the country of Sir Ferdinando's heir, and afterwards 
kept possession of it ; also finding it embraced in her Provincial 
Charter, her General Court considered the colonial right to it 
paramount to all others ; and his petition and pursuit of the 
claim availed him nothing. This was the termination of the 
Plough-patent, or Lygonian government ; — a title so solemnly 
settled in favor of Sir Alexander Rigby, in 1C46, by the Com- 
missioners of Foreign Plantations. 
Northern At the October session, the General Court received and ac- 
Wa'ssaciiu-^ cepted the report of their agents, appointed to determine the 
extendeTio' northernmost boundary or limits of their patent. By this, the 
Casco-bay. jjj^g ^^^g ^q commence at a place three miles north of the head of 
Merrimack river, in lat. 43° 43' 12'', and to extend directly east on 
that parallel, passing above the northern sources of Piscataqua or 
Salmon Falls river, crossing the Saco towards the mouth of Little 
Ossipee, 20 miles from the sea, touching the southernmost bend 
of the river Presumpscot, and terminating at " Clapboard Island, 
about three miles eastward of Casco peninsula."* 

To assume the jurisdiction and settle a government through the 
country south of this line, without farther debate or delay,f the 
General Court appointed six distinguished gentlemen to perform 

the important trust. Their commission was of this tenor : — 
Oct. 23. '■ 

Commis- ' To our trusty and well beloved friends, Mr. Simon Bradstreet, 
chosen to 'Mr. Samucl Simouds, Major Daniel Dennison, Capt. William 
Maine. ' Hawthorn, Capt. Thomas Wiggin and Mr. Bryan Pendleton. 

' Whereas you are chosen Commissioners, by this Court, to 

* See post, chap. 13, A. D. 1653.— The limit was "lor 5 miles to the 
northward of Mr. Mackworth's house, " who dwelt many years near the 
mouth of Presumpscot river, on the eastern side ; where he obtained a 
grant of 500 acres, A. D. 1635, from Vines, agent of Gorges. 

t 1 Hutchinson's Hist. p. 150.— (Note 1.) 



Chap, ix.] OF MAINE 343 

' settle the civil government amongst the inhabitants of Kittery, A. D. if>52. 
' the Isles of Shoals, and so to the most northerly extent of our 

* patent : — 

* You, or any three or more of you, are hereby authorized and 

* required, with all suitable despatch, to repair to those parts 

* and summon together the inhabitants, in places, which you shall 
'judge most convenient j and declare unto them our just right 

* and jurisdiction over those tracts of land where they inhabit, 

* requiring their subjection, and granting them equal protection 

* and privileges with ourselves. 

' We further give to any three or more of you, full power and 
' authority to summon and hold Courts there, lor hearing and de- 
' termining all causes civil and criminal, according to the statute- 
' regulations and usages of our County Courts ; to appoint com- 
' missioners, constables, and such other officers as you shall judge 
' needful for preserving the peace, and establishing order and a 
' civil administration of justice ; to invest the commissioners with 
' such powers, as a major part of you shall judge meet, and admin- 
' ister to them and the other officers the proper oaths ', to confirm 
' and settle all lawful proprieties ; to grant the people protection 
' and the privileges enjoyed by other inhabitants within our juris- 
' diction, and otherwise to act in the premises, as this Court shall 
' give you furtiier orders ; doing whatever in your wisdom and 
' discretion, will be most conducive to the glory of God, the peace 
' and welfare of the inhabitants, and the maintenance of our own 
'just rights and interests. 

' And we do hereby command all magistrates, commissioners, 
' captains and other officers, civil and military, within the county 
' of Norfolk,* and all the inhabitants upon the Isles of Shoals, 
' and those beyond the river Piscataqua within the limits of our 
' patent, to be aiding and assisting these our Commissioners, as 

' they shall have cause to crave or require. In confirmation of 

* all which, we have caused the seal of our colony to be hereunto 
' affixed, this 23d day of October, 1652.'f 

Only four of the six undertook the duties assigned them, viz. They open 
Messrs. Bradstreet and Simonds of Boston, Wiggin of New-Hamp- Kiiiery."' 
shire, and Pendleton of Maine. They opened a Court at Kit- 
tery, November 15th, and sent out under their hands a summons 

* New-Hampshire was then in Norfolk County. f 2 Mass, Rcc. p. 128. 



344 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1652. to the inhabitants, requiring them in the name of Massachusetts, 
to assemble at the house of William Everett, between 7 and 8 
the next morning, for the purposes of having an administration of 
justice established among them. Accordingly most of the towns- 
men appeared. A long parley ensued ; views and sentiments 
were interchanged and compared ; and rights, claims and liberties 
debated. 

The negociation was continued four days : During which pe- 
riod, there were instances of excessive warmth, and some ebulli- 
tions of passion and abuse. One John Bursley uttered violent 
threats towards the Commissioners as well as towards individuals 
submitting ; for which he was arraigned before the Court, when 
he was glad to escape upon the terms imposed of a submissive 
confession, which he readily made. 

The inhabitants at length proposed to subscribe to the juris- 
diction of Massachusetts, provided certain articles and conditions, 
prepared and offered by them, could be the terms of union. — JVo 
— replied the Commissioners, /o?' according to our instructions 
you must first suhmit ; and then you shall have from us a guar- 
anty oj your rights and of ample privileges. The Court being 
determined — all farther debate was evidently useless ; and, there- 
fore, on the 20th, 41 became subscribers to this concession; — ■ 

Kiiierysub- " Wc whose numcs are underwritten do acknowledge ourselves 
" subject to the government of JMassachusetts bay in JS"ew-Eng- 
" land:'* 



* Kittery was incorporated A. D. 1647. — [Sec ante, chap. VI. 1647.] — The 
names of those admitted in Kitterj, alpliabctically follow, viz. — John An- 
drews, Philip Babb, IVIary Baylie, John Bursley, Humphrey Chadbonrnc, 
William Chadbourne, Abraham Cunley, Daniel Davis, John Diamond, 
Dennis Downing-, Thomas Diirston, James Emeric, Anthony Emeric, 
[Emory,] William Everett, Nicholas Frost, Charles Frost, John Green, 
Hugh Gunnison, John Iloord, Reynold Jenkins, Thomas Jones, George 
Leader, Nathaniel Lord, Aiitcpas M'anerricke, Robert Mendam, Joseph 
Mill, ITtig-hbert Mattome, Richard Nason, William Palmer, Daniel Panic, 
Christian Remich, J/r. Nicholas Shapleigh, Jemima Shores, Thomas Spen- 
cer, Thomas Spinney, Jonathan Symonds, Richard Thomas, Robert Weigh- 
mouth, John White, Gowen Wilson, John Wincoln, ./l/r. Thomas Withers. 
— The latter grentleman and Mr. Shaplcig-h were two of Godfrey's Coun- 
cil, Richard Leader, another, lived at Newichawannock. His name does 
not appear among the subscribers — though that place was then a part of 
Kitlery. The preceding names may be a majority of the heads of families, 
but not all. 



of Agymen- 
ticus. 



Chap, ix.] of MAINK. 346 

The Commissioners after this, enumerated the rights of the A. D. 1652. 
people which were to remain untouched, and the privileges which 
they were to enjoy, and then solemnly declared all the subscri- 
bers, freemen of the colony, without taking the usual oath. 

Proceeding to Agamenticus,* they summoned the inhabitants submi; 
of that place to appear the next Monday, between 7 and 8 in 
the morning, at the dwellinghouse of Nicholas Davis — to receive 
the rights and immunities of colonists, enjoyed in Massachusetts. 
The day of meeting was November 22d ; when a spirited dis- 
cussion was commenced and pursued till afternoon. A few ap- 
peared to be obstinate ; and Governor Godfrey in particular, who 
was at the head of the opposition, continued inflexible, till upon 
a formal call for the vote, a large majority was found to be against 
him. He then submitted with the rest — himself and 50 othersf 
taking the oath of allegiance to Massachusetts, and thus becoming 
free citizens of that colony. 

The terms upon which the people, both of Kittery and Aga- Terms of 
menticus acceded to the submission and formed a coalescence with and esiab- 
Massachusetts, have been classified and arranged under the fol- Yorkshire, 
lowing articles, as ordinances of the Commissioners. 

1 . The Isles of Shoals and all the territory northward of 
Piscataqua, belonging to Massachusetts, were erected into a 
county by the name of Yorkshire. A County Court was es- 



* The Commissioners call tliis " Accomenticus" in their Report ; nor do 
they any where mention the name " Georgeana." Perhaps they were de- 
termined not to recognize the city charter, 

f Their names in .-!?^amen^jcus alphabetically arranged are these; — viz. 
Philip Adams, Sampson Ang-ier, John Alcoke, Joseph Alcokc, Samuel Al- 
coke, — Riciiard Banks, Nicholas Bond, Georg-e Beanton, Arthur Brag-don, 
— Richard Codagon, Thomas Crockett, Thomas Curtoones, — John Davis, 
Nicholas Davis, John Davis (2d), William Dickson, Thomas Donnell, Henry 
Donncll, — Robert Edge, William Ellingham, Andrew Everett, — William 
Frcathic, Hugh Gaile, Mr. Edward Godfrev, William Gomsey, Mr. John 
Gouge, John Harker, Philip Hatch, Robert Hetherse, Mr. William Hil- 
ton, I\Tr. Edward Johmon, Robert Knight, Lewis, William Moore, 

Henry Norton, John Parker, George Parker, Mr. Abraham Preble, Fran- 
cis Rayne, William Rogers, Mr. Edward Risliworth, Edward Stiet, Syl- 
vester Stover, Mary Tapp, « [acts only]," John Twisdale, sen., John Twis- 
dale, jnn., Edward Wcntome, Mr. Thomas Wheelwright, Peter Wyer, 
Rowland Younge. — JVote. — " Rushworth" and " Rishworth" are the pro- 
miscuous spelling. Here it is spelt with an i in the first syllable. But in 
England the name is " Rushworth." 
Vol. I. 31 



346 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1652. tablished, to be holden alternately, in Kittery and Agamenticus, 
at appointed times, twice a year, by such magistrate or assistant, 
as the General Court might from time to time designate, assisted 
by three or five resident Associates, elected for the purpose 
within the county. The jurisdiction and authority of this Court, 
in matters civil and criminal, were to be equal with those of the 
same tribunal in Massachusetts ; and the Court was also directed 
to appoint, (as in that colony,) three commissioners in each 
township, to decide petty causes, where there was no resident 
magistrate. 
Yorrmadlf ^' littery, incorporated A. D. 1647, was recognized as a 
towiis. municipal township, and the settlements of Agamenticus were 
made a town by the name of York ;* and both at the same 
Their rights time, received a guaranty of equal privileges with other towns 
and duties. ^^ JVIassachusetts ; having severally the right and liberty of elect- 
ing;, every year, to the General Court, one deputy, or two, as the 
freemen or voters might prefer. 

3. The inhabitants, having taken the oath of freemen, were 
eligible to any place of trust or honor wuhin the government, and 
invested with full right to vote for governor, assistants, and other 
general officers of the country. They were also to enjoy equal 
acts of favor and justice with the people on the southerly side of 

* York is the second town in the State. The name was probably taken 
from York in England, which was surrendered bj' the Royalists, to the 
Parliamentary forces, A. D. 1644, after the most bloody battles fong-ht in 
the civil wars, Ag-amenticus, or Georg-eana, was chang-ed to the name ol 
York, to avoid the city charter and Gorges' right. The place was char- 
tered by Sir F. Gorges, April 10, 1641, a borough, and March 1, 1642, a 
city by tVie said name of Georgeana. It is now constituted a town, and 
vested with municipal privileges. It was the seat of government under 
Gorges; it was made the shire town of Yorkshire, in ni6, and has ever 
since continued the same. It is a ver\' pleasant township, the soil is hard 
and rocky in many places, though productive in grass and apples. In each 
of the three first wars with the Indians, the Tribes made great exertions 
to destroy Hie place entirely, though without success. The land-titles are 
derived through Gorges. — SulUvan''s Hisl. p. 237 — 9. — " In 1764, the inhab- 
itants, from an account taken, amounted to 2,298, including 21 French 
neutrals, and 56 blacks." The climate is very healthy, it having been 
computed for 30 or 40 years, that one, in 6 or 7 who have died, was 70 
years of age or upwards. — 3 Coll. JSIass. Hisl. Snc. p. 6 — 12. — See jyost. A. 
D. 1713, — This was the residence of Johnson, Moulton, Hon. David 
Sewall, and other eminent men of the present and subsequent century. — 
Probably Georgeana enjoyed its city privileges till it was made a town, 1652, 



Chap, ix.] of Maine, 347 

Piscataqua ; and no person was ever to be drawn out of his A. D. 1652. 
county to any ordinary or general trainings, without his own ex- 
press consent. 

4. Each of the towns and every inhabitant were forever to 
possess and enjoy, respectively, all their just " proprieties,"* titles, 
and interests in the lands and houses which they held, or have 
occupied, whether by grant of the proprietor, " the town, tlie 
Indians, or their former General Courts," 

5. The boundaries of Kittery, York and Wells, were to be 
examined and set out anew, within the ensuing year, by their re- 
spective townsmen ; otherwise the General Court were to appoint 
a committee to perform that service. Till they were so peram- 
bulated and settled, they were to continue as originally granted ; 
or according to the survey and return of agents theretofore appoint- 
ed by the Provincial General Court. If, when the lines were 
run, they should cross the marslvesjor lands in Kittery or York in 
new places, the ownership of the soil was not to be thereby 
affected. 

6. To all who were admitted freemen, the Commissioners 
awarded an indemnity, and pronounced all breaches of the penal 
laws, and all the acts and exercise of civil power and government 
by them, prior to October, mentioned in the last protest, to be 
forever exempt from prosecution. 

7. To receive the " imposts" and other monies due to the ^.^y^, ^f. 
corporations of Kittery and York, and pay what they were sev- q^^,!*."*^ 
erally owing for public services, supplies or otherwise, the com- 
missioners appointed Mr. JVicholas Shaphigh collector, and di- 
rected him to make a report of his proceedings to them within one 
month : and in case of insufficiency collected, to discharge the 
people's engagements, it was to be supplied by an assessment or 

" rates, according to the former custom. "f The Commissioners 
also appointed him " Shire-Treasurer ;"J — an office which was 
ordered subsequently to be filled from year to year by the Coun- 
ty Court. 

8. In organizing an administration of justice, several men of 
inteUigence and distinction in each town were appointed town 
commissioners, who were authorized to meet in their respective 



* " Proprieties," or grants of realty in tracts. 

1 1 Haz, Coll. p. 573. \ Sullivan, p. 367. 



348 THE HISTORY [V'oL. I. 

A.D. 1652. towns, between the terms of the County Court, and with the as- 
sociates, hear and determine without a jury, all civil causes, or 
personal actions not exceeding ten pounds. Also each Commis- 
sioner, like a Massachusetts' assistant, or magistrate in his own 
town, was empowered to set alone in judgment, and decide 
upon misdemeanors and petty offences, and likewise in pecuniary 
matters or trials of 40 shillings ; and at his discretion, to bind the 
offenders to keep the peace, admit them to bail, or commit them 
to prison : — in the exercise of which powers, he was fully author- 
ized to issue in his official capacity any needful process, whether 
warrant, summons, attachment or execution. They were more- 
over, severally invested with authority to solemnize marriages ; 
and to administer all qualifying oaths, as well to those who 
might wish to become freemen, as to those elected or appointed 
to office. 

9. Any two of the Commissioners were empowered to con- 
firm or sanction the choice of all military officers, of and under 
the rank of Captain ; to grant licences for keeping taverns or 
" ordinaries," and for retailing spiritous liquors and wines ; and 
it was enjoined upon them to provide their respective towns with 

Statute " The Books of the Laws" and such other acts, as had been 

Books. . 1111 r 1 • • ?) 

passed " smce the last book came forth m prmt. 

The Legislative or IMassachusetts' Commissioners next proceed- 
ed to select and constitute the officers necessary to carry these 
regulations into effect. The town Commissioners, they appoint- 
ed in York, were Edward Godfrey, Abraham Preble, Edward 
Johnson, and Edivard Rishworth ; and in Kittery, Bryan Pen- 
dleton, and Thomas Withers, also Hugh Gunison, associate. 
A County Court formed by a Massachusetts' assistant, magistrate, 
or councillor,* and one of the above sets, was to hold a term in 
their respective towns once a year, having power to try all cases 
not capital. It was also ordered, that grand juries and juries of 
trials, at each terra of the Court, should be selected and sum- 
moned from the towns of York and Kittery proportionably. 

Edward Rishworth, was appointed clerk of the writs and 
county recorder ; and Henry Norton, was " chosen" marshal. 
The constables appointed and sworn were four ; viz. Thomas 



*Ev all these titles ivas a member of the upper branch of the General 
Court, at that time called. 



Chap, ix.] of MAINE. 349 

Davison, and Robert IMendam of Kitteiy ; Nicholas Davis of A. D. 1653. 
York 5 and Philip Babb of Hogg Island, whose jurisdiction ex- 
tended to all the Isles of Shoals, excepting Star Island. The 
innholders, or " ordinaries" licensed, were John Davis of York, 
and Hugh Gunison of Kittery. The latter was required to pay 
only "20s. the butt," probably for the quantity of liquor sold.* 

Never was a revolutionary or political change managed with Measures of 
more prudence, success or acceptability. Besides rewarding the i,,iive Com- 
Commissioners amply for their services, the General Court, when IJ^ccepied? 
the report was made, paid them a commendable compliment, by 
vole of public thanks ; resolving to make them a valuable pres- 
ent in wild lands. Nothing farther was done the current year, 
towards reducing the people of JMaine to obedience ; and only 
one legislative act, relative to the Province appears ; which pro- 
vided, that in the County Courts yearly holden in Yorkshire, on 
the last Thursday of June, a Massachusetts' Assistant was al- 
ways to preside, as in other counties of the colony. 

The General Court of Elections, at Boston, in May, 1 653, may.— Two 
admitted for the first time, two Representatives from Maine ; — viz. (^om^York- 
John Wincoln of Kittery and Edward Rishworth of York, At *''""*• 
the same session, five local or town Commissioners were appoint- 
ed upon the Isles of Shoals, to determine small causes of £10; isicsof 
and in other respects act as magistrates : Also the chief military ^''°^'* 
officer there, was directed to take command of the militia upon 
all the Islands. 

Richard Bell in o;ham, Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, a„ 
legislative Commissioner from that colony, and Thomas Wiggin, Weils. 
Edward Godfrey, Nicholas Shapleigh and Edward Rishworth, 
local Commissioners were designated to hold the June term of 
the County Court in Yorkshire, the current year ; and being con- 
vened there, they among other acts commanded the inhabitants 
of Kittery and York, severally to elect three associates, to assist 
at future sessions of the Court according to established law, — in- 
stead of the local or special commissioners mentioned. When 
Mr. Bellingham had finished the business of the Court, he was 
joined by Messrs. Dennison, Wiggin, Rawson, and Pendleton ; 
and this board of legislative Commissioners, repairing to Wells, 
immediately summoned the inhabitants of that town, Saco, and 

* See 1 Haz. Coll p. 573—6.-2 Mass, Rec, p, 144 to 153. 



350 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. ifi53. Cape Porpoise, to convene at the house of Mr. Emerson, July 

WeJs sub- 4th, for the purpose of being admitted freemen of the colony. 

Ju\y'4: At the time and place appointed, six only in Wells at first took 
the oath. William Wardwell, when his name was called, refused 
to answer, and turning with contemptuous airs, left the house. 
But being brought into court in the afternoon by a constable, on 
a warrant to answer for his contempt, he was considerate enough 
to give an ingenious turn to the affair, by saying he only went 
to persuade his townsmen to submit, and he was presently dis- 
charged. But discussion was found to be vain, and opposition 
persisted in altogether fruitless ; therefore the next day, about 
20* submitted to terms, and took the freeman's oath of alle- 
giance to Massachusetts. This completed the submission of the 
inhabitants within Gorges' restricted patent, and put all political 
declamation to rest. 

Saco sub- Saco, the most considerable plantation within the Lygonian pa- 
tent, had been the seat of different governments, and was a place 
of some note and importance. But the Provincials were now 
without any systematic or efficient regulations ; they were tired 
of revolutions and anarchy, and the obstacles were found to be 
comparatively few and small, which lay in the way of the Com- 
missioners, — assembled to discharge this part of their trust and 

July 5. duty. For on the first call, July 5th, 16f subscribed the sub- 
mission, and took the oath. To this list, Mr. John Smith, one 
of the original patentees of Lygonia, caused his name to be 
added by proxy. 



\ 



* These arc the names of those in Wells, who submitted on the 4th and 
5th of July. — Samuel Austin, John J, Barrett, John Barrett, Henry Boad, 
Joseph Bowles, John Buck, Nicholas Cole, William Cole, Joseph Emerson, 
John Gooch, William Homans, Ezekiel Knig-ht, Arthur Littlclield, Francis 
Littlefield, Thomas Littlefield, Edmund Littlefield, Francis Littlefield, jiin., 
Thomas Millot, John Smith, John Saunders, John Thing-, John VVadly, 
Robert Wadly, John Wakefield, John White, William Wardwell, and 
Arthur Warmstall. — Richard Call, Edmund Clark, John Elson, and Rich- 
ard Moore were admitted afterwards. — Sec Wells, post, Vol.11. A. D. 1713. 
— But query if John Smith was the same as the patentee. 

f The names of the subscribers, in Saco, were these : — George Barlow, 
Robert Boothe, Richard Cowman, James Gibbins, Thomas Hale, Peter 
Hill, Philip Hinkson, Richard Hitchcock, Christopher Hobbs, Thomas 
Reading, Thomas Rogers, William Scadlock, Ralph Tristram, Henry 
Waddock, John West, Thomas Williams. 



Chap, ix.] of MAINE. 351 

At the same session in Wells, twelve from Cape Porpoise* A. D. ig53. 
appeared before the Commissioners ; and by subscribing a sub- Cape Per- 
mission, and taking the oath as others had done, all became free- miis. 
men of Massachusetts. 

The Commissioners, in settling the political and prudential af- Weiis, 
fairs of this section, declared the several plantations of Wells,! cnpeF"or- 

poise made 

towns. 
* Tlic names of the subscribers in Cnpe Porpoise, [Arundel, or Kcnne- 

bunk-port,] were these, viz. John Barker, Stephen Batons, Andrew Bussey, 
John Cole, Greg-or^^ Hoskeries, Morgan Howell, George Jeffrejs, Griffn 
Montague, William Reynolds, Christopher Spurrcll, Simon Tcoft, Pe(er 
Teubatt, and Tiiomas "Warner. — 2 .'^lass. Hci:. p. 190. 

f Wells, (the 3d town in the State,) was probabl}' so called from an En- 
glish city of that name, in Somersetshire. — Wells is separated from Capc- 
Porpoise [Arundel] by Kcnnebunk river, from whicli it extends, south- 
westerly on Wells-bay and the ocean, 10 miles: It contains about 40,000 
acres, of which, 1,000 is salt marsh. Sir F. Gorges, in 16-11, gave Thomas 
Gorges, Deputy-Governor of Maine and Mayor of Gcorgeana, 5,000 acres 
of land, which he was permitted to select for a baronj', with full pov/er fo 
divide the same into manors and lordships, and to hold Courts-baron and 
Court-leets within said Lordship ; and he chose the tract near the 
small river Ogunquit, in the southwesterly part of the present Wells. On 
the 19th of April, lG-13, Gorges conveyed a part to Rev. John Wheelwright, 
who had been ban'shed from Massachusetts, on account of his anlinomian 
principles; and another grant was made by Gorges to Wheelwright. Henry 
Boad, and others, of a tract towards Kenncbnnk, July 14, 1G43. — Sullivan, p. 
231, 408. — See ante, A. D. 1043.— 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. US.—Folsom''s 
Saco and Bid. p. 65. — These grants by Gorges were confirmed at a Court 
holden at Saco, August 14, 1C44. From the famil}' of Mr. Wheelwright 
sprang all those of his name in Massachusetts and New-Hampshire. The 
population in 1653, when it was made a town, might be 15G souls. Its In- 
dian name was Wchhannd. Courts ^verc holden here occasionally for half 
a century. In King Philip's, King William's and Queen Anne's Indian 
wars, Wells suffered severely, especially in the two last ; yet was never 
entirely overcome. Wells was represented in the General Court of Mas- 
sachusetts, 1653 and 1676, three years, by H. Gunnison, F. Littlcfield and 
Wm. Simonds. There were settled here in the ministry. Rev. Samuel Em- 
ery, A. D. 1701, and Rev. Samuel JefTerds, A. D. 1725. In 1750 the town 
was divided into two parishes ; and the next year. Rev. Daniel Little was 
settled in the 2d or Kennebunk parish. In the 1st parish Rev. Gideon 
Richardson, settled in 1754, was succeeded by Dr. M. Hammenway, in 1759. 

Kennebunk, or the northerly parish of Wells, was incorporated into a 

town, A. D. 1820. This latter place was first settled, about 1723, by emi- 
grants from York and Wells. The piers built in 1798, and 1822—3, at the 
mouth of the river Kennebunk, cost $12,000. The village of Kennebunk 
is on the river Mousum, 3 1-2 miles from the sea. Factories have been 
established at the fails by a company, mostly from Philadelphia, with a cap- 
ital of one and half million of dollars. A Post Office was established here 



352 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1653. Saco,* and Cape Porpoise, f to be towns, and parts of York- 
shire. — Though neither was permitted to send a deputy to the 
General Court, and though nothing is said about titles to lands 
acquired by Indian deeds ; the towns were otherwise assured of 
the same protection, privileges and administration of justice, with 
the other towns in Massachusetts. 

In Wells, Henry Boad, Thomas Wheelwright and Ezekiel 
Knight, were appointed town Commissioners ; and these, with 
John Wardly and John Gooch, were designated selectmen ; Jo- 
seph Bowles was clerk of the writs, and Jonathan Thing, con- 
stable. In Saco, the town Commissioners were Thomas Wil- 
liams, Robert Boothe and John West, who were also the select- 
men ; William Scadlock was clerk of the writs and Ralph Tris- 
tram, constable : — Also, Griffin Montague was constable of 
Cape Porpoise. 

The command of the militia was given to officers who were 

in 1790, and a custom house in 1797 — The dwelling-house of J. Kimball, 
near Kennebtink river, and that of Dea. Larribee, on the Mousurn, were 
garrisons in the Indian wars. A hirje one, called Fairfield's garrison, 
stood on the easterly side of the former river at the landing.JI/ — S. Letter 
of B. Palmer, Esq. 

* Snco, (the -llh town,) is one of (he oldest settlements of the State. 
Richard Vines passed the winter 1617 — 18, at Winter-harbor; and settle 
ments were effected about A. D. 1623. — In the 2d and 3d Indian wars, the 
people were compelled to abandon the place. But the settlement revived 
in 1714, and the inhabitants on both sides of the river were incorporated 
into a town in November, 1718, bj^ the name of Biddcford. (See post, A^ 
D. 1714.) The town was divided in 1772, and the easterly side erected 
into a town, called Pepperelborovgh, which name was changed to that of 
Saco, February 23, 1805.— (See Saco, post, A. D. 1772). 

f Cape Porpoise, (the 5th town,) was first settled probably about 1630. 
In king Piiilip's and king William's Indian wars, the settlers suffered the 
same fate as those in Saco. The place was again inhabited about 
1714, and its name changed Ihat year to Arundel. — [See post, A. JD. 
1714.) It lies between Kennebunk and Biddeford, and is situated about 
Cape Porpoise harbor. This place was first settled by fishermen, and 
traffickers. One Jenkins, removed from Dorchester to Cape Porpoise; 
and in Sept. 1632, he took a quantity of goods, and, attended by a native 
went back into the country to trade with the Indians. At night while 
asleep in a wigwam with one of Passaconaway's men, he was killed by a 
savage, •' dwelling near the Mohawk country," who took the goods ; though 
they were returned by Passaconaway's subjects. — Winthrop^s Jour. p. 43. 
Arundel in 1790, contained 1,458 inhabitants. Its name has been changed 
since the Separation — to that of Kennehunlcport. 



Chap, ix.] of maim:. 353 

with great modest}'^, called ^^ Sargcants.^^ Those in Wells were A. D. 1653. 
John Saunders and Jonathan Thing, and in Saco Richard Their rights 
Hatch ; who were required " to exercise die soldiery in their ' 
respective towns." It was besides, an express stipulation, that 
the inhabitants of all the towns in Maine, should be forever ex- 
empt from puldic or colony taxes ; being obliged to defray only 
their own charges including those of their courts, — and to dis- 
charge their own debts. 

Such were the particulars of the civil and judicial regulations 
established by the Massachusetts Commissioners ; and it mu.st be 
acknowledged they were liberal and judicious. Though they, as 
a Board, possessed sovereign power and authority, they used 
and exercised it without abuse ; and yet extended their acts and 
measures to matters prudential, judiciary, executive and ecclesi- 
astical. 

To mention several particvdars — the inhabitants of Wells, Saco, 
and Cape Porpoise were required by the Commissioners, within 
one year, to lay out and make a road from town to town, suf- 
ficient for footmen and horses ;* and to clear and fit for carts the 
highways from house to house, within their respective towns ; 
otherwise dieir delinquency, as they were told, would incur a fine 
of £10. 

A cause of peculiar character came before the Board, in which Barker's 
Morgan Howell and John Barker, both of Cape Porpoise, were ''^^**' 
antagonists. Howell charged Barker with uttering opprobrious 
speeches against ministers of the gospel, upholding strange meet- 
ings and pretending to have a spirit of prophesy ; — conduct, which 
was alleged to be a great detriment to public worshiping assem- 
blies in the plantation. The Board heard the evidence and or- 
dered him under a recognizancef of £20, conditioned to appear 
and answer farther, at the next County Court in Yorkshire — to 
be of good behavior in the meantime, and never more preach 
publicly in any part of the colony. 

A case of jurisdiction also occurs, which ought to be stated, A case of 

.... 1-111 jiirigdiction, 

as It exhibits to some extent the Massachusetts claim. Ann Ma- 
son, executrix of John Mason's will, sued Richard Leader, A. D. 

* Sullivan, p, 365. f This recog-nizance run to Richard RussclJ, 

colon}' Treasurer of !\Iassachusetts. Howell recognized also in the sum 
of j[;^50 to jiroscciite the respondent at the appointed time and place. 
Vol. I. 32 



cal aflai 



354 THE HISTORY [VoL, I- 

A. D. 1653. 1652, into Norfolk county, New-Hampshire, in "trespass and 
ejectment," for withholding possession of houses and lands which 
he then occupied at JVewichawannock, belonging to her late hus- 
band. In an issue upon a plea and rephcation in abatement to 
the jurisdiction, the action was carried by appeal before the Gen- 
eral Court in May, 1653 ; where at last, judgment was rendered 
against the defendant, and costs, £6. 10^. 4d.were taxed for his- 
opponent. By this decision the sincerity and determination ol 
Massachusetts in her pretensions, were put to the test — and a free 
course of justice opened throughout her jurisdiction. 
Ecciosiasti- But of all the subjects which are touched by the hand of power, 
there is none fraught with more difficulty and danger, than those 
of professional belief and the religious tenets of men. Never- 
theless, the Commissioners thought there were few others, which 
called more loudly for their interference. Instead of the chris- 
tian sympathies, the mutual charities, and the graces of for- 
bearance, which are the soul of all social felicity in a youthful 
community; the churches in Wells, in Saco and in Cape Por- 
poise, were disquieted by new-fangled doctrines, or rent in pieces 
by turbulent spirits, self-willed noisy disputants, or disorderly 
communicants. Particularly, the church in Wells, was greatly 
disturbed by Henry Boade, Edmund Littlefield, andj William 
Wardwell, who had been excommunicated for some unsoundness 
in sentiment, or irregular walk, and still boldly claimed all the 
privileges of membership. The Commissioners heard the facts 
in this controversy, and sanctioned the excommunication ; ad- 
monishing them to desist from all acts of obstinacy and dis- 
turbance, and pursue a course of conduct conducive to social 
happiness and christian fellowship ; lest they, who had professed 
themselves to be the disciples of peace, should at last be the sub- 
jects of penal severity.* 

The difficulty in Cape Porpoise was of a different nature. 
There, the church polity was so framed, that the members could 
not, without an infringement of its rules and principles, transfer 
their allegiance to any civil power. Therefore to relieve them 
of their conscientious scruples, the Commissioners entirely dis- 
solved their professional connexion, and left them to re-embody 
under articles consistent with their allegiance to Massachusetts. 



*2 Mass. Rcc. p. 187. 



Chap, ix.] OF Maine. 355 

The inhabitants of Saco, distinguished for the purity of their a.d. 1653. 
principles and habits of sobriety, were destitute, though desirous, 
of a learned ministry. Aware of their solicitude, the Commis- 
sioners in the plenitude of their power, and in aid of public 
worship, as expressly desired by the people, licensed Robert 
Boothe, a pious layman, to take the lead and exhort in religious 
assemblies, till some provision should be made by law, for supplying 
this and other destitute places, with accredited ministers. Even 
here, one man was charged with extravagance in his expressions, 
— tenets, — visionary views, — and other eccentricities, which ren- 
dered him, it was said, a disturber of the peace. This was 
George Barlow; — and the Board, to tranquillize the public mind, 
commanded him never more to " preach or prophesy" in this 
place J — assuring him, his disobedience would expose him to 
pay a fine of £10 and costs.* 

Apprehending opposition and difficulty in attempts to execute 
their commission farther eastward, the Board closed their official 
services with the following Protest, which the Marshal of the 
county publicly proclaimed : — 

" Whereas we have declared the right of the Massachusetts' commis- 
' government, to the towns of Wells, Saco and Cape Porpoise ; te°"^"' '"^° 
' and the inhabitants thereof being summoned, did appear before 
' us at Wells, on the 5th of July, 1G53, and acknowledge them- 
' selves subject thereunto, and took the oath of freemen and 
' fidelity to that colony ; and, the undersigned, her Commission- 

' ers, have appointed and settled a government over them : 

' We do now therefore protest against all persons whatever, 
' that shall challenge jurisdiction, or that shall exercise any act 
' of authority over them, or over any other persons to the north- 
'ward, inhabiting within the limits of our patent, which doth ex- 
' tend to the latitude, 43° 43' 7" northwardly, but what shall be 
' derived from us as Commissioners, or from the General Court 
' of Massachusetts. 

" Given under our hands, at Wells, in the County of York, 
"July 6th, 1G53. 

" Richard Bellingham, Edward Rawson, 
" Daniel Dennison, Bryan Pendleton. "f 

" Thomas Wiggin, 

*2 Mass. Rec. p. 190. + 2 Mass. Rec. p. 191. 



356 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. 1). lary.}. The thanks of the Legislature were presented to the Commis- 
sioners, for their fideUty and success ; and the charge of £28 
13s. 3f?., ordered to be jiaid them out of the public treasury. 

Taxation. This, in effect, introduced a system of taxation into Maine ; for 
the county of York was required to reimburse a part of that 
sum, proportionate to their numbers and pecuniary ability : and 
so considerable were the public expenditures of the present year, 
that tiie colony treasurer, by order of the General Court, direct- 
ed the selectmen of towns to make " a double assessment."* 

If Massachusetts were actuated by motives of ambition in this 
enlargement of her borders, and the adoption of these planta- 
tions ; it must be acknowledged, she guided her measures by 
maxims of prudence, and manifested great assiduity and zeal for 
the good of the inhabitants so eagerly adopted. She endeavored 
to secure their contentment, and win their respect by acts of 
kindness, care and equal favor. Indeed, they enjoyed some 
peculiar privileges, for tliey were made freemen, on taking the 
oath, without the prerequisite of church-membership ; — contrary 
to the law and usage in Massachusetts. They were also exempt 
from all public or genei'al assessments, their county and town 
taxes being all they were required to pay. 

Po'ioi It was found, as we have observed, that the settlements in 

tor public Maine and other parts, were without an ordained ministrv, — 

worship. *■ ■ •' 

open to the doctrines of every itinerant, who called himself a 
preacher of the gospel, whether properly invested or not with 
the sacred office, or whether he disseminated errors, or taught 
the religion and morals of the scriptures. Of course, the people 
were under the necessity of listening to these preachers of doubt- 
ful character, or to hear none, as there were few others. To 
rectify or prevent these evils, the General Court made it penal 
for any one publicly to preach or " prophesy," without being first 
approbated by four neighboring churches, and also required each 
town, to provide means for supporting a pious ministry. 

The whole number of men in the five towns who came under 
submission, or as some more .'harshly call it, " subjugation" to 
Massachusetts, was about 1 50 in the first instance, f others taking 

* Sullivan, p. 341. 

|S iipposcd to 1)C a inajorUy of the males of and over 21 years. If (here 
were 250 families in the 5 (owns, and 50 families on the Isles of Shoals, at 
7 in a family, the whole number of persons wo'.ild be 2,10U. 



Chap, ix.] of Maine. 357 

the oatli aftenvartls. Hence the public nu'nd became much tran- A. D. igj3. 
quillized — still the minority was large and formidable, and in its 
ranks were several men of the most wealth and iiillucnce of any 
in the eastern plantations. 

One was George Cleaves of Casco, late deputy-president of opposition 
Lygonia ; another was John Bonython of Saco, a tiubulent per- Konyiiioir' 
verse spirit and an outlaw ;" a third was Henry Joscelvn+ of ■'"j'^'l'^'": 

^ ' J J \ and Joitlaii. 

Black-point, formerly one of Gorges' council ; and a fourth was 
Robert Jordan of Spurwink, an episcopal clergyman of learnuig, 
and the proprietor of a large estate. There were many other 
malcontents, though of less boldness, activity and influence. 

To obviate the cavils of Cleaves, who was in England, when 
the first measures were taken towards subjugating Maine, the Gen- 
eral Court in a respectful letter, stated anew to him the grounds 
of the claim, the generous course pursued, and the volun- 
tary submission of five towns, assuring him of their full deter- 
nn'nation to prosecute and maintain their rights by patent, still 
farther eastward ;J and if the obstinacy of opposers could not be 
abated by force of reason, justice and liberal treatment, they 
must expect rigor. 

The change already effected was followed by a legislative or- '^''"^ •■«- 

^ "^ _ , . cords of 

dor, to collect all the remaining records of different administra- Yoiksiiirct 
tions in Maine, into the office appointed to be kept by the 
County Recorder. It was a receptacle of documents and papers, 
never well arranged by the hand of care and skill ; and exhibits 
an intermixture of judicial, legislative and executive proceed- 
ings ; — many curious laws and ordinances ; — and not a few novel 
and ludicrous cases, some of which have been noticed. Won- 
derfully preser\ed, through subsequent Avars, and numerous other 
perils, they still appear in the offices of the Clerk of the Courts 
and the Register of Deeds, in the county of York ; some of 
which are obliterated by the wastes of time, and others, pemied 
in an antiquated hand-writing, are not read without considerable 
difliculty. 



* Ante, A. D. 1645. 

I .losccljn lived a uliilo a(, IVinaquiil ; and in liinir IMiilip's Avar rcniovod 
to !'1\ iiioiiUi Colony. | 2 Mass. Hoc. j). 202. 



358 THE HISTORY [VoL. 



CHAPTER X. 

The Dutch, the. Natives and the Eastern French — La Tour's con- 
duct — Peace with Holland — The English shijjs sent to attack 
Manhadoes, turn against Nova Scotia — They reduce it, and 
JLeverctt is left there its Governor — The French complain ; but the 
Province is conceded to England — C. la Tour's death — Sir T. 
Temple commissioned Govci'nor — A charter to him, S. la Tour and 
Crown — Temple and Crown purchase la Tour's right — Temple's 
character — The limits of Cromtoell's charter to him, Crown and 
la Tour — The consequent difficulties. 

A. D. 1631. Though the people of New-England were now in the enjoy- 
ment of general prosperity, and numbers of them in the pos- 
session of something more, than a mere competent livelihood ; 
their domestic political relations were assuming a posture, evidently 
adverse to the public tranquillity. For hostilities commencing in 

English and October, 1 651 , ^between the English and the Dutch, had an im- 

uic I war. j^-jg(jjr^^g effect upon their respective colonies on this side of the 

Atlantic. Jealousies and suspicions were fomented ; a profitable 

trade between the Dutch colonists at Manhadoes and the people 

A. D. 1652. of New-England, was interrupted ; and, the next year, an alarm- 
ing report was in circulation, that the Dutch Governor was in- 
citing the Indians to extirpate the English planters by a general 
massacre. 

The N -^^ ^^^^^ time, the natives in Maine and through the country 

lives. were numerous. Their principal employment, and even pas- 

time, were hunting. In all their opportunities for becoming ac- 
quainted with the gun, they had proved themselves very apt 
learners. Already many were expert marksmen. Hence they 
grew bold, and were sometimes insolent. It was more difficult, 
than formerly, to keep them in awe, and their neighborhood was 
greatly deprecated. Every serious hint or thought of a rupture 
with them, filled the country with alarm. 

The excitements and fears occasioned by the rumors, brought 

April' 19. 'together at Boston, April 19th, the Commissioners of the United 
Colonies. They investigated the reports, examined the In- 
dians, and wrote to the Dutch Governor for information. He re- 



Chap, x.] of MAINE. 359 

plied with some spirit, ' that there was not a word of truth in the a. D. ic53. 
scandalous report raised about his conduct ; and marvelled much 
at die novel course pursued, of jilacing any confidence in Indian 
testimony ;' offering to make explanations to any extent required, 
if widiin his 'power. 

Influenced by a spirit of deliberation and forbearance, the 
Commissioners adjourned without declaring war.* Still the jeal- 
ousies of the western colonists in New-England had not in the 
least abated. So highly was he suspected of inciting the Mo- 
hawks, and other tribes to acts of hostility, that the government 
of New-Haven despatched agents to England, for the ])urj)ose of 
laying open unto Cromwell, the Lord-Protector, their dangers and 
grievances, and praying for assistance or protection. 

In the same spring, rumors spread extensively through the 
country, that " some thousand Indians" had collected about Pis- 
cataqua ; and that the people in these eastern parts were greatly 
terrified. To quiet the public mind, therefore, at this important 
season of seed-time, when the report had diverted many from 
dicir agricultural employments, Maj. Gen. Dcnnison, commander 
of tiie Massachusetts militia, ordered thither a party — of 24 men 
to make discoveries, andf if possible allay the people's fears. 

The eastern French were also viewed with considerable dis- The eastern 
pleasure and distrust; and the neighborhood of la Tour, since iike'i^ 
his intermarriage with d'Aulney's widow, and a re-occupation of 
his Acadian Province, afforded little or no satisfaction. For he 
manifested not the least disposition to do justice to friends, who 
had lent him money and credit, and espoused his cause against 
d'Aulney, in seasons of extreme hazard and anxiety ; nor did 
he labor to inspire the natives with cordial feelings towards the 
English colonists, from whom he had in former years received 
so many testimonies of partiality and favor. Possessed of d'Aul- 
ney's wife, he apprehended no evils from the surviving influence 
of his deceased adversary ; and in his returning prosperity, he 
proved himself to have no genuine principles of honor or moral 
honesty. 

As the aspect of affairs darkened, the General Court prohibited 



* 1 ITvitch. Hist. p. 166—7. 

t2 Jlass. Rec. p. 170— 191.— Tl:c Sarjc-nnlb' pay uas 2s. r.nd a private's 
U. per day. 



360 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. i>. 1653. the transportation of provisions, either to the French or Dutch, 
Aiieinbar- under penalty of forfeiting hoth vessel and cargo. La Tour 
complained of this measure, as an undeserved severity towards him 
in his necessities ; and the General Court so far relaxed their order, 
as to permit a small vessel to be freighted thither with flour and 
other provisions for his relief; intending probably to make a 
merit of the fiivor and use it as a boon to secure his good-will, 
and gain the influence of the French missionaries, whose ascend- 
ancy over the natives was a cause of dread. 

Cromwell, when made acquainted with facts and circumstan- 
ces by the agents from New-Haven and other informants, put in 
requisition three or four ships, for the reduction of the Dutch 
colony at Manhadoes ; and called upon Massachusetts to afford 
the necessary assistance in the enterprize. But so great and 
unavoidable were the delaj-s, that the ships did not arrive in Bos- 
A.D jC/)4, to" till June, 1654. However, in obedience to the Protector's 
directions, the General Court, on the 9th of that month, passed re- 
solves for encouraging the enlistment of 500 men,* to be com- 
manded by Maj. Robert Sedgwick of Charlestown, a man of popu- 
lar manners and military talents, and once a member of the cele- 
brated artillery-company in London ; and Capt. John Leverett, 
of Boston, a correct tactician, and an animated patriot.f The ex- 
pedition was not unpopular, yet ere the forces were ready to 
i'ence Juno embark, news arrived, June 23d, that articles of peace had been 
signed on the 5th of April, t and that all hostilities must conse- 
quently cease between the English and Dutch colonies. § 
Reduction If this were a disappointment, it was followed by an expedition 
Scoiia!^ f^r more interesting to the eastern colonists, than the conquest 
of Manhadoes ; — that was, the projected capture of Nova Scotia. 
Twenty-two years had elapsed, since the country had been ceded 
or resigned by the treaty of St. Germains to the French ; — an 
arbitrary transaction of the king, which the republicans in Eng- 
land and in the colonies of Massachusetts, New-Hampshire and 
Maine, heartily disrelished and secretly censured. Cromwell 
had a thorough knowledge of British rights, and the preceding 
intrigues of the crown ; and though it was a time of profound 



*2 Mass. Rcc. p. 22G. — 1 Haz. Coll. p. 5(57 — 595. 

t Elliot's Bioj, Die. p. 297. | 1 Haz. Coll, p. 589. 

;2 ]\lass. Kcc. p. '^3:3. 



Chap, x.] of jiaine. 361 

peace between him and France, he determined to subject the A. D. 1634. 
whole region of Nova Scotia to the government of the nation, as 
an act of justice. 

Accordingly he gave secret, informal instructions to the cap- 
tains of the ships, before diey left England, that when they had 
reduced the Dutch colony,* — to turn their arms against Nova 
Scotia and make conquest of it ; and consequently the expedi- 
tion was undertaken without loss of time. 

The ships met with no resistance at Penobscot, nor yet at 
the river St. John,f the place of la Tour's principal fortress and 
immediate residence. J He was wholly unprepared to repel such 
an unexpected invasion ; and neither interest, nor ambition, nor 
any affection for his sovereign could arouse his opposition. In- 
deed, he manifested no great reluctance to undergo a change of 
masters, provided he could bo protected in the enjoyment of his 
ease and his estate. The English in a hw weeks subjugated 
the whole Province,^ Port-Royal capitulating in August, || when 
the temporary command of the country was entrusted to Capt. 
Tjcv'crett. 

The French complained of this, as an unprovoked outrage in 
time of peace, and laid the case before the English cabinet ; 
alleging, that they owned the country by cession, and also by a 
purchase of the English right, at the dear rate of £5,000 sterl- 
ing. But the court of the Protector refused to restore it; — 
claiming it under an older and paramount title, and supposing 
the cession was never fairly made and completed, nor any engage- 
ment to pay purchase-money performed. The next season, the A- d. 1655. 
whole Acadian Province was confirmed to the EnglishjIF who vince con- 
held it thirteen years ; after which it was re-surrendered under the Engiishj 
the treaty of Breda.** During the French occupancy, M. Denys 
and le Borgne were part owners of the Province, the latter being 

* 1 Douff. Sum. p. 306. t 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 169. 

X 1 Doug^. Sum. p. 306 — 7. § Mass. Letter Book, p. 103. 

II 1 Chalmers, p. 187. *A Holmes' A. Ann. p. 301. 

** Hub. JV. E. p. 550. — The names of the places captured, and particu- 
larh' noticed, were Pcnlagoet, St. John's, Port-Royal ; La Hcve, eastward 
of Liverpool on the south sliore of the peninsula ; Capc-Sahle, the south- 
western extremity of the peninsula ;ybri la Tour, west of Cape-Sable ; 
Cape-Fourcha midwaj^ between the N. and S. shore, at the west end of the 
peninsula. — Lock'oood. 

Vol. I. 33 



162 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1655. a Governor of the country, — an arbitrary and a bigoted catholic 
The priests bore rule ; and the soldiers, engaged in reducing the 
French settlements, reported, that they occasionally found scripts 
of the friars, and schedules of their rules and maxims, or modern 
" phylacteries," by which they resolved to govern their o\\ti con- 
duct, guide their disciples, and direct political affairs.* 
La Tour's La Tour, who was in immediate possession of the interior 
tharacter. country, upon the bay Fundy, had "the Province previously 
confirmed to him by the court of France, on his renouncing the 
protestant religion. "f But he died not long after the late subju- 
gation : — a man of equivocal character, either catholic or pro- 
testant, as was most concomitant with interest. He possessed 
specious talents without honor, punctuality, or principle. He 
was a subject of great vicissitudes. D'Aulney captured and 
plundered his fortification, and kept his wife a prisoner till her 
death. For a period, he was a voluntary exile. After a second 
marriage, he rebuilt his fortress, which Donee demolished, be- 
cause it encroached upon the royal prerogative. Once and again 
was he wealthy, and as often poor, and sometimes distressed. 
He borrowed money in Boston, and afterwards of M. Belleisle, 
a rich French trader to North America, and mortgaged his pro- 
vincial possessions several times for security ; and yet he never 
made his creditors any payments. He left one heir and a large 
territorial estate. 
Temple After the French had conceded and confirmed the country to 

Nov s - England, Cromwell erected it into a Province, and appointed 
''^- Sir Thomas Temple, Governor. J It was a territory considered 

of great value ; and Temple and one William Crown aspired to 
become Proprietary Lords of it, or at least the owners of exten- 
sive tracts. 

In the meantime, Stephen de la Tour produced such docu- 
mental evidence of his right to very large territories, as an inher- 
itance from his father, that Cromwell was induced to confirm his 
ancestral claim to the extent proved. But neither the father nor 
son ever exhibited any title to lands southerly of the Passama- 
quoddy waters, and a moiety of their northern possessions was 
embarrassed by Belleisle's incumbrance ; yet the soil of the great 

* Hubbard's N. E. p. 550. t S9 Universal Hist, p. 256. 

\ 1 Hutchinson s Hist. p. 190. — Temple was a kinsman of Lord Say. 



Chap, x.] OF MAINE. 3^3 

peninsula, an immense region, principally remained ungranted. a. d. less. 
Some parts of this section might have been purchased by Temple 
and Crown, as we believe it was ; for we find that the Lord Pro- 
tector gav^e to them and la Tour a joint charter* in 1656, by 
which he granted to them and their heirs forever, ' the territory a joint 
' sometimes called L'Accadia, and that part of the country call- Nova Scotia 

* ed Nova Scotia, from Merliquash [Lunenburg] to Penobscot, Tempie^and 
^ the river St. George, and the Muscongus — situated on the con- '^°^^"* 

* fines of New-England.' 

It is stated by one author,f that the grantees were " heredit- 
ary" or proprietary governors ; and yet it is certain that on the 
18th and 20th of September, the same year, (1656,) Cromwell 
directed Capt. Leverett, the commander at Penobscot and the 
river St. John, to deliver up the country to Col. Temple only ; 
adding, that he had received a commission to govern it, from 
Merliquash on the east, to St. Georges, near Muscongus, on the 
west.J In this way a large part of Maine fell within his juris- 
diction. However, before Sir Thomas embarked for America, 
he and Crown purchased of la Tour all the right and title of his 
father or himself to Nova Scotia, or Acadia, and took from him 
a rCjg-uIar legal assignment.^ 

Sir Thomas first came to New-En2;land in 1657.l| In enter- 

, . " A. D. 1657. 

ing upon the duties ot his ofllce, he opened a lucrative trade in Coi. Tem- 

his province, IT and continued Proprietary Governor ten years. He acter. 
was a gentleman of humane and generous disposition, remarka- 
bly free from the bigotry and religious prejudices of the times. 
To cite an instance of his disinterestedness, — when the courts of 
Massachusetts were trying Quakerism, as a capital crime, in 
1660; he went and told them, that if they, according to their 
own declaration, ' desired the Quakers' lives absent, rather than 
their deaths present,' he would carry them away and provide for 
them at his own expense. ' Yes, and should any of them return,' 
said he, ' I will again remove them.'** Two years afterwards, he 

* The charter runs to Claude, the father, and enures to the son. — See 
the charter in French. — 1 Has. Coll. p. 616 — 19. — Chalmers, p. 187. 

f Palairet. p. 14. — Or the charter might have been drafted before the 
father's death. \ Mass. Letter Book, p. 104. 

^ Palairet, p, 10—15. |] 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 190. U Sullivan, p. 158. 

** He did not succeed to his mind, and the quakcrs, at least some of them, 
were executed — 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 184 (Note j.) — He was a great friend to 
Massachusetts. — 76. p. 194. 



364 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1657. vvas recommissioned to the same office of Provincial Governor, 
by his restored sovereign ; and at some period he seems to have 
been considered the sole proprietor of the country. 
Mistakes in j^ jg worthy of particular notice in this place, that the phrase- 
of Crom- ology and terms of Cromwell's patent to la Tour, Temple and 
Crown, have proved to be the grounds or causes of endless con- 
fusion, and severe conflicts. Both Acadia and Nova Scotia are 
mentioned, yet the limits and extent of them, as expressed, have 
long perplexed the ablest statesmen ; or in other words, the lan- 
guage of Cromwell's charter has been urged by opponents to 
shew, that Nova Scotia must have embraced another and greater 
region, than what is contained in the charter to Sir William Alex- 
ander. 

It was beyond doubt the design of Cromwell to confirm the 
soil and freehold to the patentees, as vested rights, and for that 
purpose to express himself in the charter, so broadly and spe- 
cifically, that all French claims might be forever barred — never 
again to be revived whh success. For, in the language of the 
charter, he granted the ' territory called Acadia, a part of the 
' country called Nova Scotia, extending from Merliquash and in- 
' eluding the port and cape la Heve, Cape Sable, port la Tour 

* or I'Esmeron, Cape Fourcha, the cape, river or bay of St. Ma- 

* ry's, Port-Royal, the region about the bay of Fundy, and the 

* bay and fort of St. John's, the region of Pentagoet and the river 
' St. George, near Muscongus, situate about the confines of JVerv- 

* England:^ — In this, it was a great mistake and misfortune to 
have called Acadia a part of Nova Scotia, extending it to the 
river St. George ; or to have considered them " as two different 
countries, which v.'ere in truth the same."* For Acadia never 
liad any other southern limit, than that of latitude in the 40th de- 
gree, mentioned in king Henry's charter to de Monts, A. D. 
1603; whereas the southern extent of Nova Scotia, was well 
understood to be limited and bounded by the river St. Croix, as 
described, A. D. 1621, in the charter of king James to Alexan- 
der ; and both extended over the same territory eastwardly, to the 
shores below the gulf of St. Lawrence. A general recession 
afterwards, without limitation, laid open all the difficulties. 



* 1 Clialmers, p. 188.— 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 358, Note 4 



Chap, xi.] of Maine. 365 



CHAPTER XI. 

The New-Plymouth patent of Kcnneheck — Difficulties there — A 
meeting of the people called — A code of rules and regulations 
adopted — A local Court established — The trade of the patent 
leased several years — The trade declines and becomes extinct — 
The -patent sold — The period and value of the trade — The pop- 
ulation — Remarks. 

The trade and interests of the New-Plymouth colony at Ken- ■*• ^' i^*^^ 

•' -^ lo 1G32. 

nebeck, were at this period, in a state of decHne. The judicious 
and rigid rules and regulations of the colonial government pre- paiem. 
scribed, for cultivating an honest and honorable intercourse with 
the natives, were not strictly observed. There was a diminution 
of game and furs ; an increasing number of traders ; and an 
avaricious disposition manifested, by temporary residents, to ac- 
quire gains in any event. The parent colony was too remote to 
enforce her laws with uncompromising energy ; and the local 
administration of justice was a mere conservation of the peace. 
There was another fact of some importance. The territorial Difficuitiea 
right and title of the colony, especially her claim from Merry- 
meeting-bay to the sea, was called in question. Therefore, about 
this time, Jeremisquam, Sebascodegan, and other islands in the 
vicinity, were purchased of the natives ; when the practice of 
obtaining ' Indian Deeds' became fashionable, till nearly the 
whole patent was covered by them. The execution of one was 
proved before the Governor of Massachusetts ;* — a circum- 
stance connected with others, which served to recognize the na- 
tives' rights to some extent, without regard to prohibitory laws. 
Beset by discouragements on all sides, the Plymouth colony, 
in consideration of £50-|- yearly rent, leased the trade three 
years, ending June 8, 1652, to a committee of five distinguished 

* la A. D. 1648, a Sagamore convej'ed to Governor Bradford, all the 
lanils on botli sides of the river to Wessarunset. Squam Island and others 
were purchased in 1649. 

t Sullivan, p. 144—5—296; and Book of Claims. 



366 THE HISTORY [VoL. I, 

A. D. I C5'i. colonists,* viz. Gov. Bradford, and Messrs. Winslow, Prince, 
Millet and Paddy. Still the difficulties and embarrassments were 
not diminished ; and the colony spread her complaints before 
Parliament. To prevent encroachments and promote tranquil- 
lity, the Council of State " granted letters under the great seal, 
confirming and enlarging her trade within the patent ; and required 
all the English residents upon the river Kennebeck, to render im- 
plicit submission to the colonial government, in all their civil and 
social concerns." An attempt was then made to revive the trade ; 
and New-Plymouth, at the expiration of the first lease, extended 
it three years longer j requiring the lessees themselves, or some 
of them, to reside continually within the patent, under a penalty 
of forfeiting the trade. 

A.D. 1G53. The next year, March 7, 1653, the General Court of that 

March 7. J ^ ' ' 

A conven- colony, appointed Thomas Prince, who was one of the Council, 

lion called . . . , , . , 

:-there. a Commissioner to summon the inhabitants together at some con- 
venient place upon the river, for these purposes, viz. 1 , to take 
the oath of fidelity to the governments of England and New- 
Plymouth, or otherwise leave the patent territory : 2, to be made 
acquainted with the colony laws, applicable to them, and establish 
suitable rules and regulations to guide and govern them in their 
civil affairs : and 3, to choose assistants, who were to aid the 
commissioner, in framing and executing the orders to be adopt- 
ed and settled. 

A. D. 1634.. In pursuance of a warrant issued by the commissioner to the 
marshal of New-Plymouth, May 15th, 1654, the inhabitants upon 
the river Kennebeck were summoned to convene on the 23d, at 
the house of Thomas Ashly, near the margin of Merrymeeting- 
bay. Accordingly Prince, the commissioner, was met by 16 men 
of that immediate neighborhood,! to whom, after he had pub- 
lished his commission, he administered the oath, prescribed in 
the following words : 



* Morton's Memorial, p. 135—147, 

f Their names were these ; Thomas Ashley ; Thomas Atkins ; John 
Brown, [of Woolwich ;] James Cole; "William Davis; Emanuel Hej'cs ; 
William James ; Thomas Parker ; John Parker, [of Parker's Island ; Tho- 
mas PuRCiiAs, Genti-eman, of Peg-ypscot ; John Richards of Jeremis- 
quam ; James Smitli ; John Stone ; Alexander Thawyt; Thomas Webber, 

and John White. It is supposed Atkins Wved on. a baj' above Small Point, 

since called by his name. 



Chap, xi.] of Maine. 367 

" You shall be true and faithful to the State of England as it A. D. 1654. 
•' is now established ; and, whereas, you choose to reside within Uegubtion* 
" the government of New-Plymouth, you shall not do, nor cause 
*' to be done, any act or acts, directly or indirectly, by land or 
" water, that shall, or may tend to the destruction or overthrow 
" of the whole or part of this government, orderly erected or es-* 
" tablished ', but shall contrariwise hinder, and oppose such in- 
" tents and purposes as tend thereunto, and discover them to 
" those who are in place, for the time being ; that the government 
" may be informed thereof with all convenient speed : — You shall 
*' also submit to and observe all such good and wholesome laws, 
" ordinances and officers, as are or shall be established, within 
" the several limits thereof. — So help you God, who is the God 
" of truth and punisher of falsehood."* 

This little convention of sworn freemen, under the Commis- 
sioner, as presiding officer, elected Thomas Purchas, Assistant, 
and John Ashly, Constable ; and established a code of succinct 

orders, or ordinances, classed in this manner. Firstly — All 

capital crimes, such as treason against England or these colo- 
nies ; wilful murder ; solemn converse or compact with the devil, 
by way of conjuration or witchcraft j the wilful burning of 
houses ; sodomy ; rape ; and adultery, were to be tried by the 
General Court at New-Plymouth. 

Secondly — The trials of other crimes were within the juris- 
diction of the Commissioner's and Assistants' Court. — Theft was 
punishable by restitution of three or four fold, according to the na- 
ture of the offence and the discretion of the local Court. The 
convicted drunkard was finable 55. for the first offence — IO5. for 
the second — and for the third, he was to set in the stocks. Pro- 
faning wilfully the Lord's day was punishable according to the 
assistants' discretion. As the Indians when intoxicated were 
often guilty of " much horrid wickedness," even " the murder of 
their nearest relations ;" it was ordered, that every inhabitant 
selling them any strong liquor, should for the first offence forfeit 
double, and for the second, four fold, the value sold : and for 
die third, he should forever be debarred the privilege of trading 
with them. If the wrongdoer were a stranger, his fine for the 



* See the Jicccrds of PlymouUi Colony, leg-ibiy copied by order of the 
General Court, and deposited in the office of Secretary of State — Boston. 



368 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

AD. 1G54 first transgression was £10, and for the second £20; one half 

Regulations to the informer and the other half to public uses. 

Thirdly — In the prudential regulations established : — All fish- 
ing and fowling were expressly continued free to every inhabit- 
ant. If " beaver or moose" were presented to any one, for bar- 
ter by the Indians upon the river, a trade with them was to be 
free, provided no prohibited article was sold to them. All ac- 
tions between party and party were to be tried before a jury of 
twelve men ; but no civil cause above £20 sterling was tria- 
ble in the local Courts, without the consent of both parties ; 
such belonging to the jurisdiction of the Courts at New-Ply- 
mouth. — The next term of the commissioner's or local Court was 
appointed to be holden at the same place,* the Tuesday after the 
20th of the ensuing May ; and probably from year to year in that 
month. 

Trade.. An exclusive right to the fur and peltry trade, and the fishe- 

ries within the patent, had exalted the expectations of the peo- 
ple at New-Plymouth, to a height altogether unreasonable. 
They would not believe those interests and enterprizes were un- 
dergoing a decline, which must assuredly disappoint their hopes. 
The public mind vv^as full of conjecture ; till a strange jealousy 
called in question the wisdom, and carefulness of the lessees, 
though they were the first men in the colony. 

Seven In February, 1655, all the towns in the government were re- 

2jears' lease. . , , . . . , i • i i i i 

quired to express their opmions upon the course which had been 
pursued, or ought to be adopted, and especially upon the expedi- 
ency of leasing the patent any longer. This educed a spirited 
though temperate legislative discussion, resulting in a further 
lease for seven years, at £35 annual rent, to be paid half-yearly, 
in money, moose or beaver at the current prices. By the 
leasehold-indenture, Bradford, Prince, and Willet, the lessees, 
engaged to improve the trade in a manner most beneficial as well 
to the country as themselves ; and to resign the lease, if any 
town should be dissatisfied with die terms. 

But nothing Jiad the effect to abate the popular discontent and 
jealousy ; and the General Court, at the July session, appointed 
a committee of four, to confer with the Council, or magistrates 
upon the subject ; to inquire into all the affairs of the patent, — 



* 1 Ilaz. Co!, p. .586.— New-Plymouth Colony records. 



Chap, xi.] of Maine. 369 

the regulations and government within it — the agency of Mr. A. D. 1655. 
Paddy — and the accounts of the treasurer ; and to take meas- 
ures for securing the pubhc powder and property, and repairing, 
particularly, Jones' river bridge. 

This investigation had a beneficial influence upon public opin- 
ion. It was at length perceived, that the discouragements were 
in consequence of events and incidents, which it was impossible 
to control. The facilities in taking game, gradually diminished. 
The deeds of the Indians conveyed rights, which they could not 
understand. Their hunting grounds were sometimes occupied or 
claimed by English hunters or sportsmen. For it was necessary, 
that the lessees should often underlet to applicants, though they 
were equivocal characters. The business of hunting and trad- 
ing, was less profitable than formerly ; the value of commodities 
exchanged for furs being better understood. The Indians were 
ill-natured and jealous, — the proselytes, if not the dupes, of the 
catholic missionaries, who were witliout intermission among the 
tribes.* 

Amidst these increasing evils, the trade was let, in 1(356-7-8, A. D. 1656 

to 1659> 
at the same annual rent of £35 ; a sum which, though small, the 

lessees found they could not afford to pay a fourth year. A man- 
ifesto was therefore issued, July 7, 1659, by the New-Plymouth 
executive, which publicly stated, that there were unhappily 
" troubles among the Indians" themselves upon the river, some 
having been killed or carried away, and all of them too much 
discouraged to pursue their hunting with any ambition ; that seri- 
ous losses were already apprehended from the cessation of trade j 
and that the towns were in duty bound to instruct their dep- 
uties, what measures should be adopted to prevent its becoming 
utterly extinct. 

At the October session, the trade was leased a year for the The irade 
paltry pittance of only £10, free of embarrassments and out- "inci.^ "' 
standing dues, upon condition of permitting the Indians never to 
owe at one time, more than 500 skins. This lease was the last. 



* Father Gabriel Dreuilletts, the first catholic missionary, to the Cani- 
bas Indians, commenced a residence in tlie wilderness of Kennebeck, in 
1646.— 1 Charlevoix, X. F. p. 435 — This author also says, « the Capuchin 
priests had a trading house and religious hospital at Pentagoet, in the same 
year, 1646.' Dreuilletts was succeeded by James Bigot and Vincent Big- 
ot, father and son, and by Father Ralle. 
Vol. I. 34 



370 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1660. The next year, the lessees took home their agents, laborers and 
estates ; and the General Court granted to any volunteers the 
liberty of trade upon the river, without lease or price, proposing 
to sell the whole patent for £500. 
A sale at last was negotiated by a Committee of three, appoint- 
A.D. 16G I. ed for the purpose; and on the 27th of October, 1661,* the 
The patent' Patent was conveyed to Artepas Bois, Edward Tyng, Thomas 
sold. Brattle and John Winslow, for £400 sterling ; the deed of as- 

signment being executed by eleven gentlemen who call themselves 
a committee. f 
Remarks, In no Other part of New-England, had the people devoted 
themselves so entirely to the peltry and fur trade, as they had 
within the precincts of this patent. Thirty-four years, it had 
been well improved by the parent colony ; within which period, 
her emoluments and net gains must have exceeded considerably 
in the aggregate, £1,600 sterling :J to which is to be added, the 
price of sale. There was no effort nor intent to establish a 
plantation upon the river. The government here was of a non- 
descript character, under which neither the laws nor the rulers 
were respected ; and many of tlie residents were transient people 
and hunters. The colony at New-Plymouth had no surplus 
population to transplant into these parts ; and though the territory 
of the patent embraced 700 square miles, there were at this 
period found within it of white people, not more, probably than 
300 souls. Surely it is to be lamented, that the laudable en- 
deavors, made more than half a century before, to plant a colony 
within the limits of this territory, should never have been effectu- 
ally revived ; and that the patent itself, after the sale, was in fact 
permitted to sink so deep in oblivion, as to exhibit only a few 
settlements, fewer surveys,^ and a small number of the owners' 
names, for the greater pan of an hundred years. 

* 1 Jla.is. Rep. p. 484 — Prop, of Kennehcck v. Call. — This Indenture was 
recorded in the county of York,' A. D. 1719. 

f Sullivan, p. 117, 304. The assignees erected a fort ia 16G2, at " Mus- 
quequoite."— [Maquoit.] 

J Joseph Banc, says, he was taken captive by the Indians, A. D. 1692, 
was with them 8 yuars; learned their language ; they called the mouth of 
the Kcnnebeck-rivcr, "Snnkadarunk ;" and the Plymouth trading' house 
was at " Cushenock." — Kennebeck Claims. 

Jj Some surveys by Heath in 1719 ; and by Jones in 1731. 



Chap. XII.] of MAINE. 371 



CHAPTER XII. 

The statute-lmo and government of Massachusetts transferee! to 
3Iaine — Elections of public officers — Courts — County officers — 
Towns, their duties and potoers — The Militia si/stem — General 
liberties — Particular laws — Marriage — Sabbath — Ecclesiastical 
affairs — Cambridge platform — Support of the ministry — Heresy, 
— especially of the Baptists, Jesuits and Quakers — Crimes 
and punishments — Employments — Humane laws — Education — 
Debtors — Taverns — Torture — Taxation and assessments. 

The adoption or subjugation of the western parts of Maine, p^ q j^^q 
was followed by a train of events, as well as attended by a mul- ^° '^^^• 
liplicity of circumstances, unusually important to the Province. Maine con- 
A political connexion was lormed, winch, with some interruption ftiassachu- 
lasted about an hundred and sixty-seven years. The territorial 
jurisdiction, though at first limited, was from time to time, ex- 
tended ; till it embraced the whole seaboard eastward, even to 
Passamaquoddy. The laws, regulations and politics of Massa- 
chusetts were immediately received by the adopted people ; and 
they all became partakers in the administration of civil affairs. 

The code of statute-law in that government, formed since the Siaiute- 

. . 'aw. 

first settlement of the colony and of late considerably improved, 

was, in a few subsequent years, thought to be quite complete in 

itself, and in its adaptation to the people's interests, habits and 

wants,* To become acquainted with this system of political and 

legal regulations, by which the new subjects of them were to be 

ruled, was indispensable. For according to an adage of the 

' times, no one might be endamaged under color of law or coun- 

* tenance of authority, unless in virtue of some legislative enact- 

' ment sufficiently published ;' and when the law was defective, 

resort was directed " to the word of God."f They also deserve 

the more consideration and particularity, because, to them are 

* Between 1640 and 1660, the General Court completed a system of 
laws and government, which had become quite perfect. — Hutchinson t 
Hist. p. 10, 11. t Colony Laws, A. D. 1641, p. 44. 



372 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1640 traced the oriein and foundation of successive laws and measures, 
lo I6G0. , • , 

even to the present period. 

At the May session of the General Court, in 1654, next after 
the submission of the western parts of Maine — a committee of 
three was appointed to examine and arrange all the Legislative 
Jaws and ordinances, both written and printed ; and prepare " fit 
titles and tables for ready recourse to any particular." A vol- 
ume was afterwards published f' and the General Court ordered, 
that all new laws enacted, should, within ten days after the ses- 
sion closed, be printed, and a copy distributed to every magis- 
trate, court, and town, within the colony. 
System of According to the articles and provisions of the colony char- 
government. ter, the government was administered by a Governor, Deputy- 
Governor — council of eighteen assistants, and house of deputies ; 
— all of whom were chosen by a free suffrage of the people. f 
Ireesuffia- Freemen only were voters; and as early as May 1631, it 
was ordained, that none other than church-members should be 
freemen ; and that they only, after 1636, might be elected to any 
office civil or military. Yet the severity of the law was miti- 
gated towards the eastern people upon their submission j and 
church-membership was never a prerequisite in Maine, to qualify 
and entitle a man to the privilege of free suffrage. All who 
were admitted freemen took the oath of allegiance, either at the 
annual Court of Elections In Boston, or in the County Courts, 
where their names were recorded by the clerk, and transmitted 
to the Secretary of the colony ; who kept lists of all the free- 
men, in the registry of the General Court. J 
Public offi- The Governor, Deputy-Governor, Major-General of all the 
""■ militia, the Country-Treasurer, the Secretary, Admiral, and two 

Commissioners of the United Colonies§ were called " General 
Officers," and were annually elected by the freemen at large, on 
the last Wednesday of May.|| 

On election days, the Governor, Deputy-Governor and Assis- 



* 1 Ma?s. Rcc. p. 209. 

f They all sat together till A. D. 1G44; wJiea the Council and House 
separated; and each had afterwards a ncg-ative upon the other. — JFinth. 
Jour. p. 32S. — Chalmers, p. 166. 

I In May, 1666, the names of the freemen v/ctc by law sent to the 
clerks of the shires, and the County Courts tnilhorized to admit freemen. 
3— Mass. Rec. p. 224. 

{ Tliesc -werr chosen by the Gsneral Court, till A, D. 1616. i| Patent. 



Chap, xii.] of MAINE. 373 

tants chosen the preceding year, and the Deputies newly elect-A.D. ic-io 
ed, held a session together, usually iu a meeting-house of Boston, 
where they received from each freeman of the colony present, a Eienion. 
written ballot for the candidates, only one being voted for at the 
same time. In the exercise of this franchise, the voters advanced 
tlirough one aisle or avenue, and laid their ballots upon the table, 
d-eparting through another.* Such freemen as did not choose 
to attend, were permitted to give their votes in their respective 
towns, to their deputy in the constable's presence ; which, being 
sealed, were transmitted to the election-table, with a list of the 
freemen's names who had so voted. f Generally, the person's 
name voted for was upon the ballot ; sometimes, however, a candi- 
date was put in nomination, when a ballot marked was counted 
for him, and a blank ballot against him. 

In the choice of Assistants, there were some peculiarities. Assistants. 
The freemen of every town were convened, the first week in 
every April, by the constable ; when they voted for any num- 
ber of Assistants, they chose to have, never exceeding eighteen. 
The whole were exannined by the Governor and Council early 
in May and published ; and those who had tiie greatest number of 
votes were declared to be in nomination. On the day of election, 
the name of each candidate on the list was severally announced, 
and the freemen voted by way of corns and beans ; the former 
being counted for him and the latter against him. The freemen 
who exercised the right of suffrage at home, voted in the same 
manner for Assistants, transmitting their votes, sealed and labelled, 
to the election-table. For thirty years, only fourteen were annu- 
ally chosen ; the number was then increased to eighteen ;J and 
they, the Governor, and Deputy-Governor, were collectively de- 
nominated " Magistrates." 

The Deputies or Representatives to the General Court were „ 

^ 1 Keprcscnl- 

elected by towns. No town could send more than two. If it a'i^es- 
c-ontaincd not above 20 freemen, it could elect one only ; if less 
than ten, it was allowed none, though it might join in voting for 
Deputies with the freemen of the next town. Great latitude was 
given in the selection of candidates ; for a town might elect any 
freeman within the colony, its representative ; and these choices 

* Ogilby, p. 16.3. t Col. Laws, A. D. 1636, p. 42. 

^ After August, 1661, eighteen were annually chosen. 



374 'i'lii^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. I). iGio of non-residents were frequent. But no one could be a Deputy 
to ICGO. . . . ^ 

who was " unsound m the main points of the christian religion, 

" as held forth and. acknowledged by the generality of the pro- 
" testant orthodox writers."* 

Under the colonial charter, the whole number of deputies in 
any one year, never exceeded 52, nor were less than 25 ;f and 
Maine at no time after the connexion, returned more than four, 
or possibly five^ though a greater number of towns were at dif- 
ferent times represented. 

The Judici- The Judiciary power was vested in three tribunals, 1 . the 
Court of Magistrates, or Assistants ; 2. the County Courts ; 3. 
the single magistrate's or three Commissioners' Court. 

The Coiui of Magistrates, constituted of the Governor, Dep- 

Couri.'° uty-Governor and Assistants, was the highest judicial tribunal in 
the colony ; having jurisdiction of all capital crimes, cases of 
divorce, and appeals from inferior courts. Their sessions were 
semi-annual, in the spring and autumn, and always in Boston. 
A jury was empanneled as early as May, 1631 ; and after 1634, 
the freemen in their respective towns and plantations chose their 
jurymen,! ^^ ^^^^Y ^^^ ^^^^'^ municipal officers. 

County The County Court was holden by the resident magistrate 

Coan. within the shire, or such other, as the General Court might de- 
signate ; assisted by four such freemen of worth and intelligence 
within the several counties, as the towns in their annual meetings 
might select or nominate, and the legislature approve and put 
into the commission, called ^^ Associates. ^^ Of the five, three 
formed a quorum, provided one at least was a magistrate. The 
sessions of this court in Maine, were twice every year. They 
appointed their own clerks or recorders, summoned juries of in- 
quest and of trials, and had jurisdiction of probate matters, of all 
causes civil above 40s, all criminal cases not caphal, and others 
not reserved to the Court of " Assistants. "§ 

The third and lowest judicial court in the colony, had jurisdic- 
tion of all civil controversies within the county, wherein the sum 

* Col. Laws, p. 42-92-98-117. — 2 J\Iass. Rec. p. 238.— A day's absence of 
a deputy, was fined 20s. 

t In 1C54, there were 40 ; in 16G2, only 27. In 1CG6-7-8, there were 
none from Maine, tliough in 1668, there were 50 members. In the next 
10 j'ears there were never so many as 50, except A. D. 1671-2, there 
were 51. | 1 Mass. Kec. p. 76. 

§ Col. T.aws, p. 67-86. 



Chap, xh.] OF Maine, 375 

demanded did not exceed 40 slnllinffs, and it miclit fine in crim- A.D I640 

, ., , • , • toieco. 

inal cases to that amount, it was holden by a sujgle magistrate 

• I • • 1 11 -11 mi • ■'^ ningis- 

without a jury, m the town where he resided. — Ihree conunis- iratc's 
sioners also, if it were required, were appointed* by the Court of 
Assistants, or County Court, in towns where no magistrate resid- 
ed, to determine those small causes ; and if any Commissioner 
was interested, a selectman took his place. Appeals lay from 
decisions in these petty tribunals, to the County Court. 

The County-officers were, 1. a marshal, who was the execu- c„m,,„ Qf. 
tive officer of the county ; 2. the County-treasurer, — both of ^""' 
whom were elected annually by the freemen in towns, and 3. 
the clerk, or recorder of the shire, f appointed by ihe County 
Court, who was by an ordinance of 1642, made ex officio the 
register of deeds, which had previously been recorded since 
1634, in town books. 

Next to the regulations of counties, we ought to mention those Towns nod 
of towns ; for the original of almost all political measures and ccrs 
movements, might at this early period, be traced to the primary 
assemblies in these municipal corporations. Here the public 
monies were raised and collected ; officers of trust and honor 
were voted for ; and the various interests of society promoted 
and guarded. The town officers in these early times, were, 
1 . the selectmen, who had in trust, the prudentials of the 
town and assessed the taxes; 2. constables, whose official 
ensign was " a black staff," and whose business it was to warn 
town meetings, collect taxes, serve the smaller legal processes, 
raise " hue and cry," and take inquests on dead bodies ; 3. 
clerk of the writs, who kept the town records, signed legal pre- 
cepts, returnable before single magistrates or town commission- 
ers, and recorded births and deaths ; 4. surveyors of highways ; 
5. sealers of weights and measures ;J and 6, ty thing-men — all 
chosen by their townsmen. Among the duties enjoined upon 
towns, they were required to make and amend their highways 
and bridges ; and after 1659, to support their poor : also to per- 



* This was repealed in 1657, cxcepfas to Boston and Yorkshire. — 2 JIass, 
Rec. p. 332. As to the choice of Associates — Ih p. 32. Tkey were pnt 
into the " Commission." — 4 JIass. Rcc. p. 2-3.-2 Ilulck. Hist. p. 32. 

t Ilis records were made by law, 1650, conclusive evidence. — 2 JIast. 
Rec. p. 25. 

t In 1674, F. Littlefield was indicted at York, for want of scales and 
weights in his mill as the law directs. 



376 "^'"E HISTORY [Vol. I. 

A. D. 1640 ambulate the town lines once in three years ; and as early as 
1631-5, to procure a standard of weights and measures.* 

The military was a very important department in the govern- 
ment. All able bodied freemen and others, who had taken " the 
oath of residents," belonged to the trainbands. Those, in a town, 
formed a company ; and if their number were 64, they were en- 
titled to a captain, subalterns and non-commissioned officers ; 
Militia. Otherwise they were exercised by sergeants, or perhaps by a sub- 
altern. Till 1658, the captain, lieutenant and ensign, were elected 
by the freemen in town meeting ; afterwards, they were elected 
by their respective companies ; and in both cases, the choice 
was presented to the County Court, which either confirmed it, 
or rejected it and ordered another election. f 

The soldiery of each county formed a regiment, | which was 
commanded by a sergeant-major, chosen by the freemen of the 
same county in town meetings. Each regiment was mustered 
once in three years : and at the head of all the militia in the 
colony, was a Major-General,§ elected, as previously stated, like 
the Governor, by the freemen at large. Ensigns and all superior 
officers, were at a subsequent period, commissioned by the Gen- 
eral Court. 

The militia were required to train by companies, six times in 
a year ; and at least two thirds of the soldiers were required 
to have muskets, and be furnished with bandoleers ; the resi- 
due might serve with pikes, || provided they had "corselets and 
headpieces." 

But all these were only the more prominent features of the 
system, devised and embraced by the early colonists. They, as 
emigrants, felt no veneration, — they cherished no love for the 

* They were first sealed by those of the Governor's, brought from Eng- 
land ; and in 1635, each town was required to have a bushel, peck, and tlie 
aliquot-weights from 1 lb. to 14; also a " mete yard," — to be sealed by the 
standard in Boston, kept by James Pen, the marshal.— I JIass. Rec. p. 46- 
103. i Col. Laws, p. 42-120 —2 Mass. Rec. p. 371. 

I In 1639, there were in Massachusetts, 2 Rcg-iments, and 1,000 men 

IVinth. Jour. p. 176.— In 1671, there were 6 Reg-iments including- one in 
Yorkshire. 

5 The military, till 1635-6, were under the Governor, Deputy Governor, 
and nine Commissioners, who could try offenders by Court-martial and 
put to death.— 1 .Mass. Rec. p. 93-142. 

II There were no pikcmen in King Philip's war. — Hutch. Coll. p. 435. 



Chap, xii.] of maine. 377 

establishments in the country they had left. Their General a. d. i640 
Court legislated upon almost every subject, which could anywise 



... r i-r T Laws and 

concern the people m the various conditions of life. In 1G41, regulations, 
when so many sound and liberal provisions received the sanction 
of the legislature, it was ordained, that 21 years should be the 
lawful age of all persons for transacting business : and with one 
general sweep, all impediments to the alienation of property — 
all feudal or servile burdens, so common in England, were wholly 
disallowed ; and full liberty given for the conveyance of estates, 
by deed, will, or otherwise, without forfeiture upon the convic- 
tion of any crime, or offence whatever.* 

Equal rights and rational liberty were the arteries of their 
whole civil system. Every one was free to hunt in the forests, 
to fish in the tide-waters and the great interior ponds, and to 
fowl in either ; and also at his pleasure to remove with his family 
to any other place. No soldier was obliged to go out of his 
county to do military duty, nor out of the jurisdiction in actual 
service. Slavery and bondage were prohibited ; and if any one 
was holden by purchase, he was to be treated with all the kind- 
ness prescribed in the Divine law. 

Our ancestors, for the sake of freedom in matters of religion, 
are well known to have emigrated to this country ; and it is not 
surprising, therefore, that such institutions as marriage and the 
sabbath, — the subjects of church-establishments, and orthodox 
faith, should have engaged their early and perpetual attention. 
New provisions, and those differing from the laws and usages of the 
mother country, were intended to be drawn from the scriptures. 
All christian fugitives from famine and persecution were by law 
to be succored, and havje the charities extended to them, as enjoin- 
ed in the Gospel, — also strangers were to have the same measure 
of justice as freemen. 

]VIarriage,f every where a divine and sacred ordinance, was 
never to be contracted by maidens, without the parents' or guar- 
dians' approbation. Till that was obtained, all the arts of ad- 
dress employed in a secret manner, to win a female's affection, 
were declared by the legislature to be subversive of parental 

* Colony Laws, p. 44. 

t Before there was any Colony law, marriage was solemnized by tbe 
Governor and a minister of the gospel. — Winthrop's Jour. p. 20. 
Vol. I. 35 



378 THE HISTORY [VoL. I, 

A. D. 1640 authority and the divine honor, and were actually made a fina^ 
la ir.rtn -^ _ , •' 

ble offence. The disposal of children in marriage was declared 



Laws and , • i i i i- • r , ^ , 

regulations, to be Committed to the care and discretion ot parents by God 
himself. Magistrates, and none other, were authorized to solemn^ 
ize marriages, till 1656, when the power was giv^en also to 
town commissioners, where no magistrate resided ; yet there was 
a law as early as 1639, forbidding parties to marry, before their 
intentions had been published in three public meetings, or posted 
fourteen days. 

The Sabbath, instituted likewise by Divine authority, was 
esteemed a day of holy rest ; and several strict legislative provis-^ 
ions were made for the sacred observance of it. The time 
limited was from midnight preceding, to that following the day ; 
attendance upon public worship was enjoined ; absences punisha- 
ble ; and servile labor, recreation and travelling strictly forbidden. 

pzUff^iri '^^^ Church relations, deemed by the primary colonists so high- 
ly important, were evidently intended to be formed and established 
upon free and scriptural principles. For it was resolved by the 
legislature, that ^' no injunction might be put either upon any 
church, or its officers or members in point of doctrine, worship 
or discipline, whether for substance or circumstance, besides the 
institution of the Lord."* In accordance with this freedom, ' all 
f the people of God, who were orthodox in their sentiments and 
' not scandalous in their lives, were encouraged by a law, A. D. 

* 1641, solemnly to congregate and embody themselves into a 
^ church estate ; and authorized to elect and ordain their officers, 

* provided they were able, pious and orthodox 5 and to admit, 
' discipline, or excommunicate their members ; yet no church 

* censure was ever to affect any man's property, civil dignity, of-r 
f fice, or authority.' In this way the churches were purely coiit 
gregationaly formed upon principles of equality, and independent^ 
of each other, 

But enured as the colonists were in their native country to the 
connexion of church and state, they knew not how to keep them 
entirely separate. They said, ' it was the duty of the civil authorr 
' ity, to see the rules and ordinances of the gospel observed ac- 

* cording to the scriptures ;' and they permitted no church to be 
formed without the approbation of three magistrates. 

* Pol. Ivaws, p. 101-2. t Hence sometimes called " Independents." 



I 



Chap, xii.] of MAINE. 379 

Through this avenue once opened, a current of legislation was a.d. 1640 
continually flowing into the pale of the church ; many ultimately 
suffering death from its violence. A synod, convened in 164G, 
at Cambridge, by direction of the legislature, and protracted by 
adjournments about two years, agreed at length upon a code of 
ecclesiastical rules, or articles of discipline, among the churches, 
which were submitted to them and to the General Court. They 
consisted of 17 chapters, and have been denominated " TAe Cambridge 
Cambridge Platform ;" — being subsequently the ecclesiastical '"^™' 
constitutions through the New-England churches, inasmuch as 
they generally adopted them.* 

In connexion with this subject, we may take notice of the pro^ 
visions made by law for the maintenance of an orthodox min- 
istry. By an ordinance of 1654, after the admission of Maine^ 
in which less attention had been paid to religious instruction than 
in some other parts — every County Court was ordered to appoint 
what support a town or congregation should render their minister j 
and if it were not voluntarily provided and paid, it was to be 
assessed and collected like other taxes ;f and all towns were 
especially required by law, to furnish their respective ministers 
with ' convenient habitations.' 

But to affirm that man is justified by his own works, and not Heresy, 
by Christ's righteousness, or to deny the immortality of the soul, 
— the resurrection of the body, — the morality of the fourth 
commandment, — or the ordinance or authority of magistracy — ^ 
was harshly denominated, in a law of 1644, to be " damnable 
heresies,''^ tending to subvert the Christian faith, and to destroy 
the souls of men. So early was intolerance only another term 
for what they erroneously considered a part of orthodoxy ; and it 
is the more remarkable, that the churchmen and legislators ol 
those times should undertake to check, control or condemn the 
religious opinions of others, since they themselves had so lately 
come hither for the sake of enjoying freedom in matters of faith, 
worship and duty. 

The heretical sect first assailed by the General Court were the „ . 
Baptists. — They were found to have originated about a century 

* 2 Mather's JIagnal. b. v. Ed. 1820— p. 103-203, where the chapters 
are entire. — I Belk. JV'. 11. p. 70-1. — In some of the articles, " there is an 
*' appearance of liberty and tenderness, but none in reality." 

i A. D, 1651. -2 Mass. Rec. p. 230. 



Quakers. 



380 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1640 before, and were declared to be incendiaries in church and state ; 
denying the lawfulness of wars, and the baptism of infants.* In 
1646, it was made highly penal for men to withhold their children 
from that ordinance, or to leave the congregation when they 
were baptised. One Painter was the first who suffered. Con- 
victed of a refusal to permit the baptism of his child, he was 
publicly whipped ; and within twenty years, before the persecution 
ceased, about thirty were either fined, whipped or banished, and 
a few were executed. 

Jesuits. Next, the General Court, believing, as they said, the wars in 

Europe to be chiefly fomented by the Jesuits, devoted to the 
religion and court of Rome, ordered in 1647, every ecclesiastic 
of that order, coming within the colony, to be banished, unless he 
was a public messenger, and even then, if he behaved ofFen- 
sively.f No one is known to have suffered under this law, 
though frequent attempts were made to seize such of them, as 
were missionaries among the Indians. 

But no religious order was so violently attacked as the (Qua- 
kers. \ The legislature called them " a cursed sect of heretics," 
pretending " to be immediately sent from God, and infallibly 
" assisted by the spirit, to speak and write blasphemous opinions ; 
" despising government, and the order of God in church and 
*' state, reviling magistrates and ministers, speaking evil of dig- 
" nities, and seeking to turn away the people from the faith. "§ 
To exterminate them, ordinances were passed, in 1656, only 
four years after their first appearance in England, by which their 
books were to be burnt by the common hangman, and them- 
selves to be banished, and if they returned, to be executed. 

* Col. Laws, p. 102-120.— 1 Ilaz. Col. p. 53S — Hub. N. E. chap. 14. 

t Col. Laws. 

I 1 Ilulch. Hist. p. 180-1 — 208. — The persecution of qiiakers extended 
into the Province of Maine, and an order of court was passed in 1669, 
that " whatsoever 9!m/t'er5 shall act in town affairs as officers within the 
county of York, shall pay £5." Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Kittery, • 
sccins to have favored that sect, for the constable of that town, had been 
ordered, in 1663, " to repair to his house on two sabbatli days, taking' suffi- 
cient witnesses v/itli him, and to forbid him and all persons assembled, g-iv- 
ing countenance to any such persons or (heir meetings contrary to the 
laws of this jurisdiction."— Fo/s«/m, p, 141. 

^ Col. Laws, p. 121-126. 



Chap, xii.] of Maine. 381 

Umvards of thirty suffered in Massachusetts under these laws, A. D. 1640 
and some were put to death. 

Nor was this all. It was made heresy, in 1G52, to deny that 
the books of the Old and New Testament were the written in- 
fallible word of God — punishable for the first offence, by fine or 
whipping, and for the second, by banishment, or even death. 

The whole criminal code was severe, and in some instances (.'odTiln.i 
sanguinary. The colonists, in framing their statutes, prefer- '^'J],'!'^'" 
red to adopt or imitate the laws of Moses, rather than 
those of England ; and of consequence have been thought by 
modern lawgivers, to have prescribed penalties disproportionate 
to crimes. Not only murder, robbery, burglary, treason, arson 
and the crimes against nature, but blasphemy, heresy, idolatry, 
witchcraft, f perjury, manstealing, adultery, and the striking of a 
parent by a child of 16 years old and upwards, were capital. 
Violence to female chastity was also a high crime ; but it is re- 
markable, tiiat while the adulterer or idolater suffered death for 
the first transgression, tlie burglar or robber did not, till the third 
conviction. 

Punishments were numerous. Besides that of death, which 
was always to be'by hanging; and of imprisonment, banishment, 
fines and the pillory ;| convicts often suffered corporeally by 
branding, cropping the ears, and whipping ; yet the latter was 
to be imposed only where the crime was shameful, and when 
the offender's course of life was vicious and profligate ; nor were 
more than 40 stripes ever to be inflicted under one conviction. 

Forgery was j)unished by double damages and the pillory ; 
theft by treble damages ; profanity and spreading false news, by 
fine, or the stocks ; fornication by fine or enjoining marriage ; 
gambling, assaults and batteries, and drunkenness, by fine or im- 
prisonment. Idleness was viewed with marked reproach, as well 



* Sept. 9, 1661. the king ordereJ all capital and corporeal punishments 
of tlie Quakers to cease. Still thny were pursned. — 1 Hutch. IJist. p. 188. 

f Ilti" li Parsons of Sprin2:ficld, Mass. was, in lGo2, the first one tried for 
witchcraft ; and Ann Hibbins of Boston, in 1655, was the first one execut- 
ed.— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 165-173. 

\ Every town was required to be furnished with stocks, under a penalty 
°f £■'• It was a frame, fitted (o a post with holes half-formed in a lower 
and half in a folding plank, through which the head, hands and ancles were 
put, of one in a sitting posture. 



382 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. u. 1640 as an inlet of every evil ;* and all strolling travellers, vagrant 
hunters, and " tobacco takers," were obnoxious to the law, whose 
offensive manner of life it was the duty of constables particularly 
to notice. To demand an exorbitant price for labor was made a 
finable offence in 1635; and afterwards the freemen of every 
town were authorized by law, to agree among themselves what 
should be the rates of workmen's wages. 

Employ- Almost all employments were manual or laborious, and often- 

times of the hardest kind. To convert forest trees into market- 
able lumber, woodlands into fields of cultivation, and logs into 
habitations, were the prominent features of industry at this period. 
House and ship carpentry, and the handicraft of the coarser 
artisans, were in general demand. The breeding of domestic 
animals was much encouraged ; and so needful was wool found 
to be, for winter clothing, that in 1 654, the people were express- 
ly forbidden to transport any sheep out of the colony, and no 
butcher might kill one under two years old.f 

r , • But the fisheries and the fur trade, affording the greatest at- 

;ind Fur tractions to foreigners, were so frequently abused, as to require 
the special interposition of the legislature. Fishermen often de- 
stroyed timber — perhaps set forests on fire, and were guilty of 
frauds or carelessness in packing and curing their fish. To pre- 
vent these evils, the County Court were directed, A. D. 1652, 
to appoint fish-viewers for every fishing place or station, within 
the county. The fur trade led immediately to an intercourse 
with the natives ; and rendered legislative acts necessary to pre- 
vent frauds and disaffection. Foreigners, particularly the French 
and Dutch, furnishing the Indians with firearms and ammunition, 
were prohibited in 1650, all traffic with them in the colony, upon 
the penalty of confiscation. J 

All denominations of money, current in the early periods of 
settlement, were quite inadequate to the purposes of the people's 
convenience or wants. Emigrants brought small amounts with 
them ; and after the removals to this country received a check, 
about the year 1 640, and many returned back, the legislature, 



Money. 



* Charles Potuin was presented by the grand jur}' at York, 1674, for 
living an idle la/.v life, following no settled employment. 

t Col. Laws, 188. — In king Thilip's war, a soldier had only '• one shilling 
per day, besides victuals. — Hutch. Coll. p. 185. 

I Col. Laws, A. D. 1633—50, p. 132—1. 



Chap, xii.] OF MAINE. 383 

in consequence of the extreme scarcity of a circulating medium, a. d. 1640 
made corn, fish, and other products, a tender at the rates pre- 
scribed by law; also provided for extending executions upon real 
estate ; made loamjjum* current in payment of all debts, not 
exceeding 40s. ; and established the rate of annual interest, at 
eight per centum. 

Many humane provisions were established by legislative au- uunmue 
thority, truly creditable to the early colonists. A record was'^"*- 
kept in towns of all emigrants and their business ; charitable re- 
lief was to be extended to necessitous strangers ; a support for 
the poor was to be provided, under the direction of the County 
Court ;f and all cruelly to brute creatures, kept for the use of man, 
was strictly forbidden. The Indians were not allowedly to be 
dispossessed of their planting grounds and fishing births ; though 
all territorial purchases of them, followed by 5 years quiet pos- 
session, acquired to the occupants, especially in Maine, an indis- 
putable title. 

So high and correct an estimate was set upon pure morals, 

f . . . . i ^ ' Ed.icalion; 

good habits, and enlightened principles, that our ancestors be- 
lieved these could never be well established, without an early and 
thorough educationj of youth. To keep from men a knowledge 
of the scriptures, and of the languages in which they were writ- 
ten, and to impose upon them false glosses of their meaning, 
was, in the judgment of the legislature, a project of the prince of 
darkness. Actuated therefore by a strong sense of duty, and by 
motives of ambition and true policy, the General Court in 1647, 
required every town of fifty householders to employ a teacher, 
a sufficient time for the instruction of their children to read and 
write; and in every town, containing 100 ftunilies, a grammar 
school was to be kept, where youth might be fitted for college. 
Heads of families were directed by law to catechise their chil- 
dren and servants every week, in the principles of religion ; and 



* Originally " wampampeag." — The value of wampum was 4 black and 
8 white beads, for a penny.— 2 JIas.i. Rcc. 41, A. D. 1651 ; not repealed 
till A. D. l6ol.— 3 JIass. Rcc. 5.— Corn was set at 4s. rye 5s. wheat 6s. 
flaxseed 12s. per bushel. f By towns after 1659. 

Jin 167.5, the Selectmen of Kittery, Cape Porpoise, Scarborough and 
Falmouth, were presented by the Grand Jury in several indictments, 
for not taking- care, that the children and youth of their towns bo 
taught their catechism, and educated according to law. 



384 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol. 



Imprison- 
ment lor 
debt. 



A.D. 16-to the selectmen were required to see, that the youth of their town 
were properly educated, and trained to some gainful or useful 
calling.* 

The law was particularly tender of personal liberty, and for- 
bade the arrest of any debtor, who had sufficient visible property 
to pay what he was owing. If he, being poor, was imprisoned, 
he might under a law, as early as 1641, be liberated, by any 
court or authorized commissioner, provided his poverty was 
sufficiently manifest in his disclosure upon oath ; being still hold- 
en if required to " satisfy by service" his creditor, though he 
might be " sold" only to one " of the English nation. "f 

To promote order and prevent the dissipation of morals, tav- 
erns were under strict regulations, in which all dancing and 
games at shuffleboard and bowling, were expressly prohibited. 
Some habits were treated with detestation ; — particularly that of 
wearing long hair, like the Russians and Indians, was reprobated 
by public authority. 

In the general view, we have taken of the fundamental regu- 
lations and legal provisions,! which characterize the colonial 
government, we find much to admire, and something to censure. 
If we regret to see heresy made by our ancestors a subject of 
severe legislation, and to observe punishments sometimes exces- 
sive and cruel ; we must yet acknowledge our surprize, that a 
page of their statute-book, should be tarnished by an allowance of 
torture, however palliated. It is true, the law permitted no one 
to suffer what was barbarous or inhuman, nor be forced to con- 
fess his own crimes ; but after conviction, he might be tortured, 
in order to compel a disclosure of his confederates.^ No in- 
stance of torture however is found on record ; and we may boldly 
enquire of that pious age, where is the scriptural authority for its 
use or exercise on any occasion ? 

As the people of Maine were only the subjects, not the pro- 
jectors of these legal regulations, they felt no passion for their 
enforcement, beyond what appeared conducive to their prosperity 
and happiness. They made no calculations upon the honors 
and emoluments of office ; and being strangers to the modern 



Torture. 



Remarks. 



* Col. Laws, p. 74. j lb. p. 43-9. 

I See "abstracts of the Laws," &c. Hutch. Coll. 161— 187.— "Fundamen- 
tals " of ttie Massacliiiscfls."— 76. p. 20J— 218. ^ Col. Laws, p. 180. 



ClIAP. XII.] OF MAINE. 385 

Jewish theocracy attempted in Massachusetts to be new-modeled A. D. i6io 

•^ ^ . . to I6C0. 

by the gospel, and established there ; they might prudently en- 
quire, ' what have we to do with projects of political ambition, 
' or with the weapons forged against heresy ?' They never be- 
lieved, that the keys of church and state were rightfully com- 
mitted to the hands of the clergyman and the magistrate. In- 
fluenced by a spirit of independence, anxious for an equality of 
rights, and remote from the seat and scenes of anti-chrisiian 
warfare, they were generally friends to religious toleration ; and 
Maine became in some degree an asylum for persecuted fugitives. 
Indeed, a single instance of persecution, which was expulsion 
merely, is all that can be found to stain her records. If men of 
letters and of the learned professions were not her boast, educa- 
tion was free from the ingredients of superstition ; and if notions 
of liberty were less refined and more rural in the Province, than 
in Massachusetts, they were more rational and pure. 

Before we close this chapter, it is necessary to consider the Taxation. 
subject of taxation. For although the provincials were exempt 
from the public burthens, there were several charges which they 
were under obligation to defray. These were an annual stipend 
of £17, IO5. due the magistrate, who presided yearly in the 
County Court of Yorkshire, and the expenses otherwise inci- 
dental to the administration of public justice, and the manage- 
ment of town affairs. 

To meet these charges, and to provide for the erection of a 
county prison, a tax was laid upon the provincials, in 1654, of 
£91, 155. This necessarily required a system of taxation, and 
that of Massachusetts was adopted. At first, taxes were paid 
in that colony by towns and plantations, according to their popu- 
lation ; afterwards in 1634, the manner was changed, and they 
were taxed in proportion to the value of their property real and 
personal, and the number of their inhabitants. At length, in 
1646, the system was amended and improved ; a single tax was 
set at £1,500, of which every poll, or male 16 years of age 
or upwards paid 12 pence, and 20*. worth of property paid a 
penny. In this way, apportionments were assigned to the several 
towns and plantations.* 

* 1 Mass. Rec. p. 64, 68, 78, 139.— 2 lb. p. 218-235.— 1 Dou^. Sum. p. 
533.— See post A. D. 1675. 

Vol. I. 36 



386 

A. D. 1640 
to 1660. 

Census and 
valuation. 



Assess- 
ments. 



THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

This method rendered it necessary to take a census of the tax- 
able polls, and an inventory of the rateable estate ; a business 
performed in each town by the selectmen and a commissioner 
chosen for the purpose. When completed, a session was holden 
by them in the shire town of the county, and the whole were re- 
vised, equalized and settled.* 

The commissioners, appointed in the first instance by the Gen- 
eral Court in 1654 for the towns in Maine, were Richard Nason 
of Kittery, Abraham Preble of York, Jonathan Thing of Wells, 
Robert Boothe of Saco, and Griffin Montague of Cape Por- 
poise ; who were required, with the assistance of the selectmen, 
and the advice of their deputies in the legislature, to take and 
equalize the census and inventory, " and assign to each town of 
their county its just proportion to pay, according to the custom of 
the country rates. "f The sum of £91, 15s. mentioned, was ap- 
portioned in the spring of 1655, to the several towns according 
to property and taxable polls. J 

■" In 1646 ,cows were valued £5, and cattle between 3 and 4 years old at 
£4. — 1 J\lass. Rec. p. 461. But A. D. 1651-7, the valuation was thus, cows, 
£3; cattle between 3 and 4 years old £2 10s; between 2 and 3, £2,— 
between 1 and 2, £l ; every ox 4 years old £5 ; every horse-kind 3 years 
old £5 ; an ass, £2 ; a sheep 10s ; a g'oat 8s ; and a yearling' swrne 20s. 
All cattle under a year old were exempt from taxation. — Col. Laws, p. 70. 
3 Mass. Rec. p. 16. f 2 Mass. Rec. p. 247. 

J Thus, — to Kittery and the Isles of Shoals [bclong-ing- to Maine] 45, 15. 
York -...,- 

Wells 

Saco .---.- 
Cape Porpoise . . . . - 

£91, 15. 
Of this sum, the polls in each town would pay in the same proportion, as the 
aggregate of the taxable polls in Massachusetts would paj' towards a sin- 
gle public tax of £l,500. In 1662, the proportions were, to Kittery £lO ; 
York £7 ; Wells £7 ; Cape Porpoise £3 ; Saco £6 ; Scarborough £7 ; 
and Falmouth £6. 



1-7, 


17. 


13, 


10. 


10, 


05. 


4, 


08. 



Chap, xiii.] of Maine. 387 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Massachusetts patent extended to Clapboard Island — The people of 
Lygonia refuse to submit — The opposition — 3Iilitia of Maine 
organized — Shaplcigh, Sergeant-major commandant — The natives 
— Intercourse with them revised — The Lt/gonians submit to Mas- 
sachusetts — Articles of submission and union — Scarborough and 
Falmouth established as towns — Their poioers and privileges — 
Pejcpscot tvithout the limits of Massachusetts' patent — Address 
of the eastern inhabitants to Lord Cromwell — Rev. 31. \Vhecl- 
wright's agency — Deputies from Maine — Yorkshire court. 

After tlie report of Sherman and Ince, by which the northern a. d. 1653. 
limit of Massachusetts patent was determined to be in latitude MassHchn- 
43^ 43' 12" f the General Court despatched to the eastern '/^J^'^P^Jf"' 
coast, in the summer of 1653, two experienced shipmasters, 
Jonas Clark and Samuel Andrews, who found the same degrees, 
minutes and seconds on the northern point of an Island in Casco 
bay, called the Upper Clapboard Island. Here they marked 
several trees, one with the letters M. B, ; also a grey rock on the 
main shore, distant l-4th of a mile.f An east and west line 
drawn through these points from the Atlantic to the South sea, 
was therefore supposed to be the northern boundary of that patent, 
within which tlie whole claim of Mason, the southwesterly section 
of Maine, and a part of Lygonia, were comprehended. 

With great perseverance and unchanging purpose, Massachu- People of 
setts labored more than three years, before the residue of the fuil lo'su™ 
eastern people within the extended limits of the patent, could be "*"' 
induced to acknowledge her jurisdiction over them. Neither 
acts of favor, arguments nor complaints could overcome their 
obstinacy. In vain did the General Court assure them, that the 
decision of their own tribunals should remain unimpeached ; that 
justice and right should be fully administered to them in the Courts 

* See ante, chap. 9, A. D. ]652. 

t It was " 4 or 5 miles northward of Mr. Mackworth's house."— 2 Jl/aw. 
Rec. p. 240. — In 155.3, Thomas Wiggin was magistrate, Edward Godfrey, 
Nicholas Shapleigh, Edward Rishworth, associates.— In 1654, Abraham 
Preble was county treasurer for Yorkshire. 



38S 'fHE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1651. of Yorkshire ; and that appeals from any judgment, after six days' 
notice to the adverse party, would be received by the proper 
Courts having appellant jurisdiction, upon the application of a 
parly and the assignment of his reasons. They paid no regard 
to these proposals, nor to the authority of the County Court in 
Yorkshire, nor to the pioclamations issued in 1655-6, by 
the Lieutenant-Governor and two Assistants, acting as Commis- 
sioners in those years, and requiring their submission.* 

A D ifv' T^^Q greatest opposition was from Cleaves, in which his ad- 
herents were Joscelyn, Jordan, Bonython, and most of the prin- 
cipal men in their vicinity. Assisted by them, he endeavored to 
shew by maps and indubitable evidence, that their estates and 
habitations were within the province of Lygonia, independent of 
Massachusetts. To surrender these their inborn rights, would be 
pusillanimity and treason. 

Thedis- In return, the General Court undertook to convince them of 

*'""^* their mistakes, by the depositions of mathematicians and surveyors, 

the words of the patent, and other authentic documents ; and to 
remove their fears and prejudices, by the strongest asseverations of 
justice, protection, and favor. ' Recollect the civilities and re- 
' spect, (said the court) which the people of these parts have re- 
' ceived, since our rights have been shown and established. Who 
' has been threatened or injured .'' Nay, it is time, all combina- 

* tions, and all resistance to our claims should cease. Our title 
' does not rest under a shadow of doubt. So far are our thoughts 
' from any infringement of the planters' rights and liberties, that 
' we offer them the same we ourselves enjoy. Neither do we 
' expect any assistance or relief from taxing your estates ; for we 

* request nothing more than what you have always done, viz. " to 
' bear your own charges."f In becoming fellow-citizens, you 
' have no better grounds for objecting to our laws, because you 
' have not participated in making them, than emigrants have, 
' when they become subjects of the commonwealth. If men 
' will in violation of rights and duty, presume any longer to resist 
' us, we shall protest most solemnly against all their proceedings, 

* In 1655 the Yorksliire County Co>irt was liolden by the "worshipful 
Samuel Symonds, Capt. Tliomas Wigg-in, mag-istrates; Mr. Edward John- 
eon, and Edward Rishworfh, Recorder, associates. 

t 2 Mass. Rec. p. 290, 353.— 1 Haz. Coll. p. 59S.— 9. 



Chap, xiii.] OF MAINE. 389 

* and advise what course will be most consistent with the princi- A. D. iCj5. 
' pies of honor and justice, in the sight of God and man.' 

Massachusetts was also opposed by Gorges and Rigby, who 
were receiving intelligence from Godfrey, and accusing her gov- 
ernment of usurpation and avarice, before Lord Cromwell. To 
counteract the charges, she furnished Mr. John Leverett,* her 
agent at the English court, with facts and instructions, which in 
connexion with other considerations, were urged in her favor 
with so much success, before the Lord Protector, as to strength- 
en the favorable opinion he had long entertained of the New- 
England puritans and to render abortive all assaults upon her 
measures and interests. 

The noted John Bonython of Saco, was another of her foes, A.D. lGo6, 
both violent and abusive. Sworn never to submit to the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts, he defied the authority of the County 
Court, which had undertaken to impose a tax upon him and his 
townsmen ; and besides refusing to pay his part of it, wrote an 
insulting letter to the legislature. For his contempts and rebel- 
lious conduct, that body sent a warrant after him, requiring the 
officer to arrest him and carry him to Boston. But being always 
on the alert, he could not be apprehended. f 

Hitherto INIassachusetts had courted obedience in INIainc, by '^.''c !^liiiiii» 

•^ o( Maine 

arguments and persuasives ; — it was now time to think of assert- organized, 
ing her authority. The militia was considered at this early age, 
the safeguard of the public ; and the General Court caused mili- 
tary companies to be formed and established in Kittery, York, 
Wells and Cape Porpoise, erected the whole into a regiment, 
and appointed Nicholas Shapleigh, Sergeant-major and command- 
ant. He was also required to meet with the company officers 
for improvement in military tactics, and to see that the soldiers 
were well armed, equipped and disciplined.! 

Among other circumstances, which made it necessary at this The En- 
period to render the militia effective, we may perhaps mention fia'i'ivcs" 

* He was the same who led the troops into Nova Scotia. " Godfrc)' was 
active about his complaints."— //uicA. Co//, p. 274— 317.— 1 Haz. Coll. 60S. 

t 2 Mass. Rec. p. 307. 

I 2 jyjass. Rcc. p. 316. — In Aug. 165fi, 70 of tlie inhabitants in Saco, Cape 
Porpoise, Wells, Kittery and York, addressed a petition to Lord Cromwell, 
stating- that they were " a people few in number not competent to man- 
aj^e weighty affairs," and praying to be cojotiaued under the government 
.of Massachusetts. — 1 Haz. Coll. p. lOg. 



390 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. IG5G. the restiveness of the Indians. Not only in the late Dutch war, 
but in a recent difficulty with Ninigrate, Sachem of Narraganset, 
Massachusetts was apprehensive of an open rupture with them.* 
It had been enjoined upon the colonists by the charter itself, 
to win the natives if possible to the knowledge and obedience of 
the only true God and Saviour, and of the Christian faith, " by 
force of moral example and religious effort and instruction ; 
and hence among other measures, the laws about this time were 
revised and improved, as well for their benefit as for perpetuating 
peace with them. No strong liquors, not even cider nor beer, 
might be sold to ihem ; every trading house erected without 
legislative license was ordered to be demolished jf and if the 
cornfields and crops of the Indians were, even through insufficient 
fencing, wasted by the cattle of the planters, the town was obliged 
to repair the damage, and pocket the loss, unless it chose to 
pursue the owner for a remuneration. All trade with them, in 
furs, peltry, boats, or other water-craft, J was taken into the hands 
of the government ; and Indian commissioners were designated 
by legal authority for a determination of all matters among them- 
selves, which a single magistrate might decide among the 
English. § 
Tii^L^'^o-' ^" 1657, the inhabitants within the patent eastward of Saco, 
niaiis. ^yj^Q j^ad not taken the oath of allegiance, were summoned to ap- 
pear for that purpose, before the County Court, at the June term 
in Yorkshire ; to which, however, they paid no regard. They 
were then commanded to answer for their defaults, in October, 
before the General Court. To this requirement, they, through 
the agency of Cleaves, replied by way of a protest, against the 
legality of the legislative proceedings ; complaining of them also 
as a grievance, and repeating their unchanging resolution, never to 
become the volunteers of subjugation. Met by an independence, 
or rather an obstinacy so persevering and unusual, the General 
Court told them, that nothing but equal justice and their own par- 
ticular good were requested — objects which forbade violent meas- 
ures, and if they should suffer through want of government or 
protection, the occasion and blame were imputable solely to their 
own indiscretion. 



* Hutch. Coll. p. 270. t Col. Laws, p. 134. | Act A. D. 1656. 

§ 2 Mass. Rec. p. 381. — It is said one magistrate with such Indian commis- 
sioners had the jurisdiction of County Courts — causes among the Indians. 



Chap, xiri.] OF Maine. 391 

This legislative mildness and forbearance fortunately achieved a d. iC57, 
what was altogether unattainable by menaces, or acts of compul- 
sion. When their resentments and prejudices were overcome, 
which had rendered them blind to their own interests ; they be- 
came sensible of their defenceless condition, and of the evi- 
dent advantages resulting from a well-organized administration 
under a free and equal government ; and consequently entered 
upon the consideration of terms best calculated, to form and 
establish the anticipated union. 

Jordan, Joscclyn and Bonython becomins; at last outrageous inTiicoppo- 

'' *- "- siiion. 

their opposition, the two former were arrested by order of tlie Gen- 
eral Court and carried before that body ; where they, for the sake 
of regaining their liberty, and avoiding fines, thought it most pru- 
dent to subscribe a humble submission ; and after taking the oath 
of allegiance, were discharged.* 

But Bonython, who was not only guilty of the boldest con- 
tempts and defiance of government, but of the most flagrant abu- 
ses to several individuals, escaping, was able to elude the arm of 
justice ; and the General Court pronounced him an out law and 
rebel — to be pursued and treated as a common enemy of man- 
kind ; yet respiting the penalties of out lawry to the first day of 
August ensuing, and offering a reward of £20 to any one, who 
would in the mean time bring him before that body. The next 
year he voluntarily appeared before the legislative Commission- 
ers in Casco ; offering a " full and satisfactory" confession of his 
offences, and making a solemn avowal of his allegiance to Massa- 
chusetts ; and therefore the out lawry was rescinded. 

Samuel Symonds, Thomas Wiggin, Nicholas Shapleigh and pp.^je'^f^^* 
Edward Rishworth, who filled this commission, opened a session i'.yf:"i'ia 

' ' >■ adopted by 

in Lygonia, July 13th, 1G58, under legislative instructions to ad- ^'"S'^^chu- 
mit the remaining eastern inhabitants of the patent, to settle a 
government among them, and to give them a guaranty of rights 
enjoyed by other freemen of the colony. The place of meeting 
and holding their court was at the dwellinghouse of Robert Jor- 
dan in Spurwink. Here the male inhabitants of the plantations 
and islands appeared, among whom were Joscelyn, Cleaves and 
Jordan ; and after a mutual agreement upon the terms of union, 

* Snllivan. p 371. 



Scarboro', 



392 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 165S. they and nearly thirty others took and subscribed* the freeman's 
oath. 

In the articles of submission, and union it was stipulated and 
agreed ; — 1 , that all the people in these parts should be exoner- 
ated from their allegiance to Massachusetts, whenever a supreme 
or general Governor arriv^ed from England : — 2, that all their op- 
position and other past wrongs be pardoned and buried in obliv- 
ion : — 3, that the same privileges be secured to them as were en- 
joyed by other towns, particularly Kittery and York : — 4, that 
appeals be in all cases allowed to the General Court, when suffi- 
cient indemnity is offered for the payment of costs : — 5, that none 
of the privileges hereby granted and secured, ever be forfeited 
by reason of any " differences in matters of religion," nor be af- 
fected otherwise than by known and established ordinances and 
penal laws, formally enacted by the General Court : and 6, that 
a transcript of the rights and privileges, generally possessed by 
other towns, be sent to these plantations and inhabitants. 

It was hkewise ordained by the Court of Commissioners, that 
the places hitherto called Black-point and Blue-point with the 
adjacent islands from the Saco to the river Spurwink, be erected 
into a town by the name of Scarborough,-]- extending back 
from the seaboard eight miles into the country. 

Faimoutii. Also Spurvvink and Casco bay, from the harbor side of Spur- 

* Of the whole number twelve made their marks in hierog-ljphical char- 
acters, after the manner of the natives, each mark being- peculiarly his 
own, in contradistinction of all the others. — Jilass. Files. 

■f- Scarborough^ (the 6th town,) has a large tract of salt marsh adjoining the 
sea ; the interior is sand ; and other places, clay or loam. Upon the rivers, 
is good intervale. From the eminence at Blue-point the prospect is elevat- 
ed. The charter of the lands by Gorges was confirmed in 1684, to Joshua 
Scottow and Walter Gendell and others, by President Danforth. The 
records are continued from 1681 to 1688. In the former year there were 
56 rateable polls, Henry Joscelyn was an early settler and an eminent man. 
He married the Widow Cammock whose husband was Patentee of the place, 
and left a large estate at Black-point. Scottow was a very generous and 
valuable man. He gave 100 acres of land towards building a fort near the 
first meeting-house. He was a magistrate under Danforth. In 1682 there 
was a vote of the town " to raise 2s Id on each person for the Lord," and 
in 1685 another vote to build a meeting-house on the plains near the fort, 
which after a dispute was erected there agreeably to the determination of 
Edward Tyng and Francis Hook, two of the Provincial Council.— JJ/S. 
Lei. Rev. jYaihan TiUon.See post. Vol. II. A. D. 1714. 



I 



Chap, xiii.] OF 3IA1NE. 393 

wink river to the Clapboard Islands in that bay, extending back a. d. 1658. 
from the water eight miles, were formed into a town by the 
name of Falmouth.* 



"^ Falmouth, tlic 7lli town established in tlie State, was so called for one 
of tliat name in England. It extended from Spurwink river to N ortii Yar- 
moiitl), about tliree miles eastward from the river Presiimjiscot ; and about 
eight utiles back from the sca-boar.l, mean distance ; embracing- an area 
of 80 squ.ue miles ; also Richmond's Island, and all the others opposite to the 
town upon the coast. Tiie first resident within (he limits of the town, was 
Walter Bagnall, who set up a trading- house on that island in 1628, and was 
killed b)' Scitterygussct and an Indian part}', three years afterwards. The 
Province of Lygonia, or Plough-patent, granted to Dye and others, by the 
Plymouth Council in 16J0, was described as lying between the head-lands 
of Cape Elizabeth and Cape Porpoise; and between the coast and a back 
line 40 miles distant, 'ihe next summer a company of emigrants in the 
ship Plough visited it, but etlected no settlement. Richard Tucker and 
George Cleaves had then been residing on the easterly side of the Spur- 
wink, near its mouth, about a year. But they were interrupted by John 
Winter, agent of Robert Trelawncy and Moses Goodyeare, who obtained a 
patent from tlie Plymouth (Council, Dec. 1, 16-31, of the land from Spurwink 
river to Casco or Fore river — possibly to Presiimpscot ; therefore Tuck- 
er and Cleaves, in 1632, renmvcd and settled on the south-westerly side of 
the peninsula, called bj- the English Casco neck, and by the Indians, J)]ach' 
igonae. Five years after, they obtained from Sir Ferdinando Gorges, a 
deed of 1500 acres between Fore river and Back Cove, or Presumpscot; 
and Cleaves, moreover, received from Gorges an agency for " letting and 
settling any of the lands or islands between Cape Elizabeth and Sagadahock, 
and back 60 miles." The same year, 1632, Arthur Mackworth settled east 
of Presumpscot, near its mouth ; and afterwards obtained a deed of 500 
acres there, executed by Richard Vines, the agent of Sir Ferdinando. In 
1640 there were nine families in ancient Falmouth, viz : at Spurwink or 
Riclnnond's Island, John Winter, and his subsequent son-in-law, Robert Jor- 
dan ; upon the iXeck, Tucker, Cleaves and Michael Mitten, the husband 
of Cleaves' only daughter ; at Back cove, four ; and one, at Presumpscot. 

The administration of William Gorges, which was commenced at Saco, 
March 21, 1636, embraced not only Falmouth, but North Yarmouth and 
Pejepscot. So also did that establislied by Sir Ferdinando, under liis char- 
ter of Maine, granted A. D. 1639. But in 1643, April 7, Lygonia being as- 
signed to Sir Alexander Rigb}' — Cleaves was appointed his deputy-presi- 
dent ; and four ytars afterwards, the validity of the title was confirmed to 
the assignee. The seat of the Lygonian government was Casco neck ; its 
jurisdiction extended from Kenncbunk to Wcstecustego [North Yarmouth] 
inclusive ; and its form was probably imitative of that in Massachusetts. 
The Provincial Assistants to the deputy-president in 1648, were Robert 
Boothe and Peter Hill of Saco, Henry Watts of Scarboro', William Royall 
and John Cossons of the plantation, now North Yarmouth. In July, 1658, 
Falmouth submitted to become a part of the Massachusetts jurisdiction. 
Voi. I. 37 



894 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1658. These two towns had the privilege of sending' one, or if they 
Their pleased, two deputies to the General Court ', and of having Com- 
missioners' Courts vested with power to try all causes without a 
jury, where the damages or sums demanded, did not exceed 

The fust representative to the General Court from Falmouth, was George 
Cleaves in 1G63 and 4. 

But during' the latter j'car, the King's Commissioner?, June 23, assumed 
the government of the Province, and appointed George Mounljoy of Casco, 
one of the Provincial Justices. The Province of Maine was now bisected 
by Kennebunk river into two Divisions, the eastern and western, and Courts 
subsequeutl}' holden at Falmouth and York, by the Justices appointed for 
the whole Province. In 1666, if not before. Juries wereempannelled, and 
justice regularly administered. The last General Court, under the authori- 
ty of the King's Commissioners, ivas holden in May, 1668 ; when Massachu- 
setts resimied the government of Maine, and Francis Neale was chosen one 
ol the Associates. 

At the commencement of the first Indian war, 1675, there were in Fal- 
mouth 46 families, viz : on the east side of Presnrnpscot, 9 ; on the west 
side of the river, 7; around Back cove. 10 ; at Capissic, towards Stroud- 
water, 5 ; on the Neck, 4 ; in Purpoodic, 9 ; and at Spurwink, 2, viz : Rob- 
ert Jordan and Walter Gendel! ; 40 houses, SO militia, and 400 inhabitants. 
In August (Hlh) of that year the town was assailed by the Indians, when 
34 of tlie inhabitants were slain and 17 taken prisoners. Tlie survivors 
upon tlie neck retired to Jewel's Island, and other places, and did not re- 
turn to their desolate habitations till the peace of Casco was concluded 
April 12, 1678. 

After the purchase of Maine by Massachusetts, a provincial government 
was established under the presidencj' of Thomas Danforth, in ICSO — 1 ; and 
Fort Loyal, located on the south-westerly shore of the Peninsula, [at the 
end of King's street,] was rendered defensible, and a garrison manned with 
13 men, and furnished with munitions of war. A General Assembly was 
first holden at York, March 30, 1680, by the President, Council and depu- 
ties from all the towns, except from Cape Porpoise, Scarboro' nnd Fal- 
mouth ; Walter Gendeil appearing from the latter town was disallowed a 
seat because he had no certificate of his election. Anthony Bracket was 
appointed Lieutenant and Thaddcus Clark, Ensign of Falmouth company, 
and the next year the former was the depnty to the General Assembly. In 
16S8, at tiie beginning of the second Indian war, there were in towu, 6 or 
700 inhabitants. In May, 1690, the town was furiously assailed by the 
French and Indians, and on the 20th the garrison capitulated; and ill- 
fated Falmouth lay waste and desolate till the close of the war. See post 
Vol. II. A. jy. 1714. — JV. B. While this history was in press, the 1st vol. nf 
Coll. of J\Iaine Hist. Sac. was given to the public; in which is the first part 
of the History of Portland,'-^ compiled ly William Willis, Esq.^''— evincive 
of thorough research, and written in a perspicvovs and energetic style. 
From this, the preceding topographical notice of Falmauth is principally »c' 
Ucttd. 



Chap, xiii.] of Maine. 395 

£50. Those appointed to this trust for the ensuing year were A. D. 1658. 
Messrs. Joscelyn, Jordan, Cleaves, Watts and Neal; and each of 
them was moreover invested with the same power as single mag- 
istrates, to determine small causes of 40s. and to solemnize mar- 
riages according to law. 

In session they were authorized to approve and sanction the 
nomination or choice of all military officers under the rank of 
captain ; to grant administrations and perform all other probate 
business cognizable by the County Courts in other shires ; and in 
conjunction witii four Associates chosen annually by the freemen, 
to hold a County Court with juries, every year, in the month of 
September, either in Saco or Scarborough, the day and place to 
be designated by the associates, and promulgated by the re- 
corder, six weeks before the term. All other inhabitants who 
had not appeared, were upon their request, to be admitted to the 
rights of freemen before any three of the commissioners, upon 
taking the oath of allegiance.* 

Falmouth and Scarborough were declared to be a part of York- The towns 
shire; and were severally required forthwith to mark and estab- Yorkshire? 
lish their boundaries, and to furnish themselves with " the Book 
of the Laws."f 

The legislative commissioners made a report of their proceed- 
ings, under date, July 14, 1G58, to the General Court ; when 
that body tendered them an expression of public thanks for their 



* Tlie first two ministers of Casco, were of tiie episcopal communion. 
Rev. Richard Gibson came over early in 1637, and preached at this place, 
Portsmouth and Isles of Shoals, about five or six years before he re- 
turned. — Rev. Robert Jordan, arrived here A. D. 1640, at the age of 28, 
lived in the country 39 years, mostly at Spurwink, occasionally preaching^ 
and admiiiistcriug' tlie ordinances under the episcopal form, for 36 years, 
except when Kilcnccd by Massachusetts. He died at Portsmouth A. D. 
1679, aired C8 ; leaving his widow and six sons a large landed estate at 
Cape Elizabeth, Spurwink and Scarborough. — Rev. George Burroughs 
graduated at Harvard University, 1670, began to preach at Falmouth 1674. 
His house was south of the stone meeting-house ; — from which he was 
driven by the Indians, in 167G. He returned in 1683; and " when the 
town was sacked by the Indians, in 1690, Mr. Burroughs made his retreat 
to Danvers ;" and two years afterwards he suffered at Salem for witchcraft. 
See post, A. D. 1692. 

f The laws were printed in 1660, and B«nt to every town in the eovera- 
ment.— 2 ^Ims. Rcc. p. 462. 



396 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1658. services, and ordered the charges of the commission, being £44, 

10s. Sd. to be paid out of the colony-treasury.* 
jurisdrcUon ^^ being supposed that the jurisdiction of a large tract at Pe- 
jepscot belonged to ]\Iassachusetts, in virtue of a conveyance 
made, A. D. 1639, by Thomas Purchas, the original proprietor 
and settler, f the question was virtually determined in a suit at 
law. — One Elizabeth WayJ impleaded him, before the County 
Court of Yorkshire, in an action which was tried by the jury, 
on an issue iti abatement to their jurisdiction, as a matter of fact. 
The verdict being in his favor, the Court refused to have it re- 
corded, and he appealed to the General Court. Here it was 
decided, that inasmuch as the plantation of Pejepscot, where 
Purchas lived, was not really within the patent of Massachusetts, 
though hers by deed, the cause was not cognizable by her courts ; 
and it was dismissed. 
A peiiiion Strengthened by the accession of the eastern Lygonia to 
loCrom-""' Yorkshire, the inhabitants of York, Kittery, Wells, Saco, and 
***"' Cape Porpoise, presented their memorial to Lord Cromwell, 

Oct. 27th, expressive of the satisfaction they felt in the govern- 
ment, as administered by Massachusetts, with a request for its 
uninterrupted continuance. 'Our numbers, said they, are few 
' and our dissensions, which have been many, owing principally to 

* malcontent royalists, are happily quieted by wholesome laws 
' and watchful rulers. Through their provident care, godly per- 
' sons have been encouraged to settle among us, our affairs have 

* become prosperous, and a barrier is opposed to an influx upon us, 
' of " delinquents and other ill-affected persons," — the fugitives of 
'punishment. Our pious and reverend friend, Mr. John Wheel- 

* wright, sometime with us, is now in England, whose thorough 

* knowledge of our affairs, he will, at your Highness' command, 

* be happy to communicate. '§ 

Wher]. Wheelwright, while there, lived in the neighborhood of Sir 

Wright's Henry Vane, who had been his patron in this country, and now 
took great notice of him. Through his instrumentality, the for- 
mer being introduced to the Protector, says, " all his speeches 

*2 Mass. Rec. p. 410—412. 

fl Ilaz. CoU. p. -157.— Ante, A. U. 16i2. 

I Probaby the widow of George VVa)-, co-patenfcc originally with Pur- 
chas. Eleazer, Georg'e's son, in 16S3, made a conveyance to Richard Whar- 
ton, i Hu'.ch. Co'.l. p. .314— 31G. 



Chap, xiii.] of Maine. 397 

" seemed to mc, very oithodox and gracious. He spake very AD ic,:js. 

*' experimentally, to my apprehension, of the work of God's 

" grace ; and knowing what opposition I met withal from some 

" whom I shall not name, exhorted me to perseverance. 

" Stand fast (said he) in the Lord, and you shall see that these 

" afllictions will vanish into nothing."^"" — Mr.WJieelwright, was a 

well-chosen agent for the memorialists, to appear hefore the 

ruler of England, — able and cheerful to represent their condition 

to the best advantage. 

In IGaO, Falmouth and Scarborough, joining, elected Ed- A. D. 1659. 
ward Rishworth, an inhabitant of York, their first deputy to the 
General Court ; and Saco about the same time, being admitted 
to the same privilege, elected Robert Boothe. The delegation 
from Yorkshire now consisted of five members, and might be 
ten. The assistants designated, this year, to preside in the 
County Court of Yorkshire, were Thomas Danforth, and Thomas lw''"^® 
Wiggin ;f and the people of Maine and Lygonia, in their con- 
nexion with Massachusetts, enjoyed peace and prosperity several 
years. In the County Court holden at Scarborough in Sept. of 
this year, Henry Joscelyn, Nicholas Shapleigh, Robert Jordan, 
Edward Rishworth and Abraham Preble were Associates. It had 
been so arranged, that one term should be holden, annually, in 
the tvestcrn, and the other in the eastern, division or part of 
Yorkshire. J 

* VVlicchvrijhts' letter.— 1 Ilutck. Hist. p. 170. 

t Capt. VV^ig-g-in resided at Dover Is. 11. — an assistant from 1G50 to 1GC4, 
in the government of Massachusetts, N. Hampsliirc and Maine united. 

J The associates in 1669 and 1661, were the same as in 1650, — " chosen 
" by the votes of the major part of the fiecmen of tliis county for tlie 
»« ensuing year." 



398 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Charles II. restored to the British throne — Lygonia lost to the heirs 
of Righy — Mason and Gorges claim their respective Provinces — 
Gorges opposed — Isles of Shoals formed into a town hy the name 
of Appledore — The ministry thereof the Rev. Mr. Brock — Messrs. 
Jordan and Thorpe silenced — Decision in favor of Gorges^ claim — 
Symptoms of revolution there — Yorkshire Court and trials — Tem- 
pie re-commissioned Governor of Nova Scotia — Maine restored to 
Gorges — Project of Gen. Government revived — The Hudson and 
Sagadahock countries granted to the Duke of York — The extent 
and name of his eastern Province — Dutch at Hudson sidxlued by 
an English force — Four Commissioners appointed to settle dificuU 
ties in New-England — Their altercations with the General Court 
— Nichols proceeds to New- York, and the others eastward. 
A.D. 1G60. All political changes in England were, at this period, felt to 
o/ch-iries" ^^^ I'Gmote parts of her colonies. The restoration of Charles II. 
^'- to the throne, in May, 16G0,* was a memorable event, which 

greatly revived the desponding hopes and courage of the episco- 
palians and royalists, as well on this as that side of the water j 
and in like proportion filled their opponents with anxieties and 
fears. In a triumph after so severe a struggle of twenty years, 
it was apprehended, that foes could expect no favors and friends 
no denials. 

The counter claimants of Maine saw their interests suspended 

Lygonia ... . . 

lost to Rig- upon the vicissitudes of the times. Edward Rigby, the son of 

bv's he rs. ^ . ... 

Sir Alexander, was the lawful heir to Lygonia. His influence 
with the Protector might have been sufficient to paralize the ex- 
ertions of Massachusetts, in her subjugation of his province, had 
he not been an episcopalian, and the associate of Gorges in the 
opposition. His rights, as once established, might in better days 
have been recovered ; but they were now wholly disregarded. 
The distinguished part, which his father had taken in the civil 

* The population of the colonies at this time was about 80,000 souls, in 
Virginia S0,000, Maryland 12,000, New-England 38,000, besides 6,000 in 
Maine. 



Chap, xit.] of Maine. 399 

wars was well remembered. Always himself strongly attached toA.D. IG60. 
the interests of the republicans, he durst not appear before the 
throne to solicit justice, much less to ask favor; and his patent 
sunk into oblivion. Nay, all attempts afterwards made by heirs 
and agents to derive some advantage from it, proved utterly ab- 
ortive, and the loss was total. 

But Robert Tufton, grandson of John Mason by his daugh- 
ter Anne, having taken his surname and being a royalist, lost 
no time in laying his rights of proprietorship to JS'ew-IIamp- p*/"- , . 
shire before the king, and urging his coniplaiiUs against Massa- 
chusetts, for her encroachments. Immediately the subject was re- 
ferred to the King's attorney-general, who decided, Nov. 8th, 
that Robert [Tufton] ]Mason " had a good right and title to the 
Province." He also claimed Masonia, a territory in Maine of '^'"°""'' 
10,000 acres, situated eastward of Sagadahock, on which there 
had been inhabitants twenty-five years. The settlement was com- 
menced at Nauseag, [in Woolwich] under an Indian deed of 
Nov. 1 , 1 G39, to Bateman and Brown, — a title which has prevail- 
ed against all others ; so that neither the devisees in Mason's will, 
nor his heirs, however much they were the subjects of royal fa- 
vor, could ever derive any benefit from this tract.* 

The Province of Maine was claimed by Ferdinando Gorges, ^r""«''' 
a grandson of the original proprietor, through his oldest son John, •'^i'''"*'- 
Discouraged by his father's misfortunes, or the turbulence of the 
times, John took little or no care of the Province ; nor do we 
hear any thing memorable of him, nor yet of his son Ferdinando, 
till shortly before the restoration. In 1G59, the latter published 
a History of J\''eiv-England, which was compiled by his grand- 
father and iinj)roved by himself, and which, though a small vol- 
ume, contains jnuch rare and curious matter. f From the well 
known devotedness of his family and himself to the royal cause, 
and the politics of the ministry, he might make large calcula- 
tions upon court-favor. For the same reasons, INlassachusetts 
might apprehend the utmost from his influence and resentments. 

His principal agent in Maine, and inlormant, was Edward God- 
frey, a man of some abilities and education, but whose peculiar 



* I Haz. Coll. p. 398—1 Bclk. N. H. p. 8!). 

t It is ia two parts — viz. >' A luicf Narrntivc," ^c. ; and "A Narrativn,'' 
4"C. of New-England; — one of Til purl the other of 57, Cvo. ['nges. 



400 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1660, characteristics seem to have been an aspiring, restless ambition, 
and a studied dissimulation. Besides a residence in the Province, 
twenty five years, he had been some time Deputy-Governor ; and 
though he had taken the oath of allegiance to Massachusetts, and 
accepted an office under her government, he was still an adver- 
sary to her measures and interests." Obtaining of the Lord Pro- 
tector no redress of his pretended grievances, he actually went 
to England during the short administration of his son ; and in 
1659, had his complaints referred to a committee of investiga- 
tion, j- 

ti![^''i"roviM-^ Unexpectedly he was encountered there, by a representation 

ciais. from the inhabitants of several towns in the eastern province ; 

in which they stated, that the jurisdiction of Massachusetts had 
been extended to them by their own request ; that they had en- 
joyed great privileges, prosperity and contentment under her gov- 
ernment ; and that the exchange of acceptable and watchful ru- 
lers, for men of doubtful character and slender abilities to govern 
them, would fearfully bring upon them a return of all the evils, 
which tliey had experienced from civil dissensions and anarchy 
in former years. 

The petitions and complaints of Gorges, prosecuted principally 
by Godfrey, and espoused zealously by Mason, had been pre- 
sented to the king in council, and to parliament, and referred to a 
legislative committee of seven. Hence a citation to all concern- 
ed, ' was posted by the memorialists at the exchange in London.' 

Adciiessrs Aware of these proceedincis, the General Court in December, 

of ilie G<'ii. ^ . . 

<>.urtto presented addresses both to the king and parliament. In one, 
I'arnanicnt. they Congratulated him on his restoration to the throne of his fath- 
ers, and besought him not to permit unfavorable impressions to 
be made "upon his royal heart," by their accusers, till opportu- 
nity was allowed for defence ; and in the other, they said 
they had extended their jurisdiction over the eastern planta- 
tions upon request of the inhabitants, after a careful survey of the 
patent, without any design improperly to enlarge their own do- 
minions, much less to impair the rights of any man. J 

The Isles of Shoals, attached partly to Maine, and partly to 

* Hutch. Coll. p. 322. t Hutch. Coll. p. 317. 

J Hutch. Coll. — The General Court also sent letters to several noble- 
men and otliers '' praying them to intercede in behalf of the colony." — 
1 Ihilch. Hi St.. p. 104. 



Chap, xiv.] of Maine, 401 

New-Hampshire, were at this period inhabited by about forty A d. iggi. 
families. Being places of note and great resort, the General 

Islos of 

Court, in May 1661, incorporated them into a town by the name of shoals 
Appledore, and invested it with the powers and privileges pLcfore. 
of other towns. As before stated, the first settlers and their de- 
scendants were a moral and industrious people, distinguished for 
their intelligence and love of justice and the christian ordi- 
nances.* 

The pious and popular ministry of the Rev. John Brock, ^e^-J- 

. Brock. 

among these islanders, for twelve years from 1650, is worthy of 
particular notice. He came to New-England when a youth, and 
was one of the graduates at Harvard College, in 1647. From 
early life, he was distinguished for his remarkable piety ; and in 
the pastoral office, he has been compared to the martyr Stephen, 
" full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." His animated discourses 
and frequent lectures excited and kept alive a glow of religious 
feeling in the heart ; and gave a high relish to public worship. 
In his pastoral visits, his happy talent in conversation rendered 
him engaging and instructive to every capacity. A couple of 
anecdotes show some peculiarities of this godly man. 

A fisherman of generous disposition, whose boat had been of 
great use in helping the people from the Islands to the house of 
worship on the Sabbath, had the misfortune in a storm to lose it. 
While regretting his loss, the man of God said to him, Go home 
contented, good Sir, Vll mention the matter to the Lord, — to- 
morrow you may expect to find your boat. — Considering its par- 
ticular service to the poor, he made it a subject of prayer ; and 
the next day, it was brought up from the bottom, by the flukes of 
an anchor, and restored to him. — One Arnold's child of six years 
old, lay extremely sick, if not really dead. Mr. Brock, suppos- 
ing he could perceive some possible signs of life, arose, and with 
his usual faith and fervor, prayed for its restoration ; using these 
words towards the close, O Lord, be pleased to give some token 
before tee leave prayer, that thou wilt spare the child's life. Un- 
til it be granted we cannot leave thee : — and the child sneezed, 
and afterwards recovered. j 

* Ante, A. D. 1639. 

t Mather'' s JIagnalia, p. 32. — 7 Coll. Mass. Hisl. Soc. p. 254,— He died 
at Reading, 1688, aged 6$. 

Vol. I. 38 



402 '^"^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1661. Quite the reverse was the character of Robert Jordan. He 
Jordan and had given Massachusetts repeated trouble; and now the poHtical 
lorpe. ciiQnges evidently emboldened him in his irregularities. On a 
Sabbath after the close of public worship he presumed to baptize 
in Falmouth three children, tliough he was not then in priest's 
orders, having been suspended by Massachusetts. As he and 
Wales, their father, were holding offices under that colony, the 
General Court thought it their duty to make an example of the 
assuming man ; and after giving him a severe reprimand, com- 
manded him to transgress no more. The same Body also sus- 
pended one Thorpe from preaching, till his misdeeds could un- 
dergo a legal investigation before the County Court of Yorksliire. 
In fact, so powerful a preventive of " disorder, ignorance, and 
profaneness," was " an able and orthodox iliinistry" thought to 
be at this period, that the Legislature in 1661, enjoined upon 
Wells, Saco, and Scarborough, to procure religious instructers of 
that character, otherwise they must expect to suffer the animad- 
versions of the law.* 
Decision in ^[-^q committee of Parliament, reported upon the representa- 

lavorofMa- ^ '11 f 

son, (Gorges tions of Mason, Gorges, Godfrey and others, that they were the 

and otliers. 

lawful proprietors of extensive tracts in New-England, and had 
expended large sums of money in settling them ; — that the 
latter, a zealous friend and uniform supporter of the known 
laws of the realm, who had resided in the territories of Maine 
twenty-five years, and been a considerable part of that period. 
Governor of the Province, had been displaced from that office, and 
dispossessed of his lands and estate, about the year 1652, by the 
government of Massachusetts, which after stretching their patent 
three score miles beyond its settled bounds, had made actual en- 
croachments upon the eastern plantations, and compelled them 
" by menaces and armed forces," to submit to the usurped au- 
thorities of that colony ; that her inhabitants had been a long 
time, endeavoring to model themselves into a Commonwealth, in- 
dependent of the crown, exacting oaths inconsistent with their 
allegiance, issuing writs in their own name, coining money, and 
disallowing appeals to England ; and that in the opinion of many 
witnesses, Mason and Godfrey have themselves been damnified 



* Mass. Rec. p. 472, 482—485.-3 lb. p. 5, 13. 



Chap, xiv.] of Maine. 403 

at least £5,000, with what pretence of right, your committee A. D. 1662. 
have been unable to ascertain.* 

Nevertheless, the General Court received from Charles a gra- charies 

, . , , 1 • 1 I • 1 • A proclaimed.' 

Clous answer to their addresses, proclaimed him king, August His require- 
7th, and according to his requirement sent to England two agents, "^^"'* 
viz : Mr. Simon Bradstreet and Mr. John Norton. f These men, 
though well received, returned early the next summer, bringing 
with them the act of uniformity, by which about 2000 dissenting 
ministers were removed from their livings ; and also the King's 
letter, by which the charter of Massachusetts was fully confirm- 
ed. J It moreover ordered justice to be administered in his name ; 
the book of the common prayer to be used whenever wished ; the 
admission of any persons to the Lord's supper, who were sustain- 
ing fair characters, also their children to baptism ; and the per- 
mission of all freeholders, having competent estates, to vote in elec- 
tions, without regard to their religious persuasions. All these, 
which had in general been previously conceded to the people of 
Maine, were, with no unnecessary delay, allowed in practice, or 
subsequently sanctioned by enactments of the General Court. 

The symptoms of revolution in Maine appeared every where Revoiuuon 
strong. Although the towns, including Appledore, might send ten '" 
or eleven deputies to the General Court, not one this spring was 
returned. The body politic was dissolving ; many men of influ- 
ence discovering great defection to Massachusetts. Indeed, it is 
said, that Gorges had resumed the Government of the Province 
by appointing several men to office ;§ and was united with others, 
in urging the king to commission and send over a Governor-Gen- 
eral of New-England including New- York. 

To counteract these movements, the General Court displaced opposeri by 
Nicholas Shapleigh, and appointed William Phillips of Saco, Ma- se„g''*'^'"*" 
jor-commandant of the provincial militia j and before the usual 



* 1 Belli. N. H. app. p. 300. f 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 199—200. 

I Answer entire — Hutch. Coll. p. 377 — 80. — The associates in 1662 irero 
Henry Joscelyn, A. Preble, Ed. Rishworth, Humphrey Chadbourn and 
George Mountjoy. 

5 1 T-Iutch. Hist. p. 234.— Note— The agent of Gorges, Mr. J. Archdale 
came into Maine with commissions to F. Champernoon, Robert Cutis and 
T. Withers of Kittery, E. Rishworth and F. Raynes of York, J. Bowles of 
Wells, F. Hooke of Saco, H. Watts of Blue-point, H. Joscelyn of Black- 
point, R. Jordan of Spurwink, Francis Neal of Casco and Thomas Purchas 
of Pejepscot^ as councillors or magistrates. 



404 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A D. 1GC3. time of holding the County Court in Yorkshire, directed Richard 
Waldron of Dover (N. H.) to preside and discharge the ordina- 
ry business of the term. The Legislature furthermore sent a 
precept to the people of Maine, which was promulgated through 
the recorder and the constables, to all the towns. It was in these 
words : — 

" To the Inhabitants of Yorkshire." 

" You and every of you are hereby required in his Majesty's 
" name, to yield faithful and true obedience to the government of 
" this jurisdiction, established amongst you, according to your cov- 
" enant articles, until his Majesty's pleasure be further known."* 

Early the next year, Massachusetts, in support of her author- 
ity, sent them a mandatory address, by which they were required 
to choose associates, clerks of the writs, jurors, town commission- 
ers, and constables ; to yield due obedience to the laws and the 
legislative commissioners ; and to discharge their duties with 
fidelity whether official or civil. The excitement had now in a 
good degree abated. Three deputies were returned to the Gen- 
eral Court from the Province, viz : Roger Plaisted for Kittery, 
Edward Rishworth for York, and George Cleaves for Falmouth 
and Scarborough. 

The Assistants, Thomas Danforth, William Hawthorne, and 

Eleazer Lusher, who were appointed to hold the Yorkshire Court 

Trials of of- tijis year, were instructed to confirm any officer, whether civil 
feutlcrs, .' ' 

or military, whom they could approve ; and to punish every one 

pretending to possess or exercise adverse civil authority, unless 
he could show it derived immediately from the king.f 

Complaints, unusual in number and novel in character, were 
presented to this court, many of which were the fruits of the 
late disturbances. Some ten or twelve were fined or otherwise 
punished, for acts of opposition to the government of Massachu- 
setts ; and several for their contemptuous or slanderous abuses 
of its authority or officers. James Wiggin, being indicted for 
swearing with a profane oath, that if his trencher of fish was poi- 
son, he would give it to the ' Bay magistrates,^ was tried and 



*3 Mass. Rec. p. 53—58. 

f 3 JIass. Rec. p. 59.— Tiie associates , in 16G3, were George Moiintjoy, 
Humphrey Chadbourn, and Edward Rishworth. — A fine was imposed upon 
Robert Ford for saying 'John Cotton was a liar and had gone to bell.' — 
Sullivan, p 373. 



Chap, xiv.] of Maine. 405 

sentenced to pay a fine and give bonds for his good behavior. A. D. 1G65. 
When arraigned, he protested against^the jurisdiction of the court, 
and said he was a marshal mider Gorges, and they had no right 
to try him. — William Hilton of Cape Porpoise, was found guilty 
of tearing a seal from the warrant, issued for choosing a deputy 
to the General Court, and for this contempt of authority he was 
fined.* Even the town of Scarborough, as a municipal corpo- 
ration, was fined for acts of disobedience ; and unhappily among 
those who were arraigned, censured and fined for offences of this 
class and character, was Francis Champernoon, who had been a 
councillor under Gorges' charter ; Robert Jordan, the episcopal 
minister at Spurwink ; 31aj. Shapleigh, who had commanded the 
Yorkshire regiment of militia and been an associate, and Fran- 
cis Small who was a man of wealth and enterprise. f 

The dissensions and conflicts about the political powers, rights, 
and will of competitors, which always weaken the foundations of 
society, had in the present instance an effect to bring into doubt 
the validity of many land-titles and grants. To prevent disqui- 
etude therefore, the General Court, in 1GG3, confirmed to the 
ter-tenants nearly all the lands in Falmouth, and seem to have 
allowed purchases to be made of the Indians. Nicholas Shap- 
leigh and Francis Small, about this time, purchased of them a 
large tract between the Ossipee rivers, which have ever since 
been holden under their deeds. 

For the purpose of enabling the rulers and proprietors of No- ^^y^ gco- 
va Scotia or Acadia, after the conquest by Cromwell's orders, to ""' 
defray the expenses of supporting the provincial government and 
garrisons ; it was generally expected, that they were to have the 
exclusive control and profits of the Indian trade. J Tiiis privi- 
lege, the General Court of ^Massachusetts fully confirmed, by 
passing a penal act against transgressors ; and for' several years, 
the intercourse and commerce, coastwise, between New-England 

* R. Boothe was presented by the grand jury, for saying of the Bay 
magistrates 'they are a company of hypocritical rogues: they fear 
neither God nor the king." 

■f Sullivan. — There were a great number of oilier presentments by the 
Grand Jury for acts of opposition to the INIassachusctts government, R. 
Jordan was presented for saying among otlier things, " the Governor of 
Boston Is a rogue, and all the rest thereof rebels and traitors against the 
king."— /'o/iOOT, p 92—3. t i flutch. Coll. p. 2-5} : A. D. 1654. 



406 THE HISTORY [VoL. T. 

A.D. 1663, and the province while Col. Temple was Governor, was pursued 
with mutual benefit and friendship. The generous dispositions 
and acknowledged abilities and merits of that gentleman, secured 
to him great credit and confidence among all parties. He seems 
to have been one who escaped the umbrage both of republicans 
and royalists. After discharging the duties of Governor, with so 
much reputation under the Protector, he was re-commissioned by 
the king, July 17, 1662, to the same office, with an equally ex- 
tensive jurisdiction, from the eastern extremity of the great pen- 
insula to " Muscongus on the confines of New-England," which 
he had previously possessed. The crown also secured to him an 
exclusive trade with the natives in his Province, and armed him 
with power to seize all persons found violating his rights, to con- 
fiscate their vessels and goods, and, after notice, to treat them as 
a common enemy. Also the General Court, ever desirous to 
promote a friendly correspondence with the Governor, strictly for- 
bade all violations of his rights, and gave him and his attorney 
the power and privilege of prosecuting offenders in any courts of 
the colony.* 
The king Charles and the New-England puritans from the commence- 
Eiidand!' nicut of his rcign, cherished a mutual fear and dislike of each 
other. He suspected their loyalty and attachment ; they, his 
disposition to assail their privileges. His ear was always open 
to accusers, while he was half-deaf to all the prayers and defen- 
sive reasons and truths they could offer. So violent and success- 
ful were the persecutions against the rights and claims of Mas- 
sachusetts in particular, that she not only feared the loss of New- 
Hampshire and Maine, but began to be apprehensive of having 
her own Charter taken from her. Therefore, the General Court 
appointed a committee of both branches, to keep it and a dupli- 
cate in separate places, thought by them the most safe and 
secure. f 

On the 11th of January, 1664, Gorges obtained from the king 

Maine or- an Order to the Governor and Council of that colony, by which 

rrsiored'io^ they werc required forthwith to restore unto him his Province, and 

<jors^i- gj^g jjjj^ quiet possession of it ; or else without delay assign their 

reasons for withholding it. J It was also rumored that several 



* 3 Mass. Rec. p. 58-7. 

t 3 lb. p. 89.— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 210— 11.— Chalmers, p. 251. 

11 Hutch. Hi'st. p. 231.- Note. 



Chap. xiv.J of maine 407 

armed ships were preparing to cross tlie Atlantic, in which some a.d. lew 
gentlemen of distinction were to embark, and among them prob- 
ably, a Governor-General of New-England. 

The proiect of forming an American Empire, embracing twelve ^^''''.'^'f'l,*''' 
royal principalities, or Provinces, was revived soon after the res- I'i'e- 
toration, and had been hitherto zealously pursued. To effectuate so 
important an establishment, and pacify conflicting and persevering 
petitioners, the king saw the necessity of reducing under his sub- 
jection the Dutch upon the Hudson, and of settling the trouble- 
some controversies in the eastern colonies of New-England ; — 
both which he undertook to accomplish. 

In the first place, his JMajesly, IMarch 12, 16G4, granted to his Chancr to 
brother James, Duke of York and Albany, all the Dutch terri- York, 
tories upon the river Hudson, including Long Island, which he 
purchased of Henry, Earl of Sterling, son of Sir William Alex- 
ander, the original owner and patentee of Nova Scotia ; — to all 
which was given the name of New-York.* In negotiating with 
his lordship, the Duke became acquainted with the supposed west- 
ern parts and limits of the Nova Scotia Province ; and finding no 
royal grant extant, which covered the territory between St. Croix 
and Pemaquid, except those which were made when the New- 
England grand patent was dissolved, and the twelve royal Pro- 
vinces or divisions were projected and assigned, A. D. 1635; he 
caused this region to be inserted in the charter to James. It 
had been named the " County of Canada," and was intended for 
Sir William, in lieu of Nova Scotia, whicli had been taken from 
him by the crown and ceded to France. f 

In the Duke's charter now granted, the territory is described Sagada- 
to be " all that part of the main land in New-England, beginning 
*' at a place known by the name of S(. Croix, next adjoining to 
" New-England ; thence extending along the seacoast to a place 
" called Pemaquid and up the river thereof to its farthest head, 
" as it tendeth northward ; thence at the nearest to the river 
" Kennebeck ; and so upwards, by the shortest course to the 
" river Canada, northward. "J 

This, besides being denominated ' The Duke of York^s Prop- 
erty,^ has been called "The tekritory of Sagadahock :" 



*6 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 187. fSec ante, A. D. 1635. 

1 1 TrumbulPs Conn. p. 266. 



408 TliE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1664. But the Duke's agents called it ^^ JVew-Castle" being the 
same name given to the south-western section of his patent 
on the Delaware. They also called it the ' County of Corn- 
wall.''* — By his thus becoming the territorial proprietor of these 
eastern and western regions of Sagadahock and New- York ; the 
foundation was deeply laid for his appointment to the high office 
of viceroy over the whole intermediate country. f 

The Duke, who was afterwards James II., continued his claim 
to his Sagadahock territory about 25 years, until his abdication ; 
when it reverted to the crown of England. 
The Duke's This was a great encroachment upon the jurisdiction of Sir 
patent. Thomas Temple, Governor of Nova-Scotia. Besides, if a line 
were stretched from the head of Pemaquid westward to Kenne- 
beck, it would cross the Damariscotta and Sheepscot at the upper 
falls, of those two rivers, and terminate at the Kennebeck nearly 
opposite the foot of Swan Island ; and in this way, the eastern 
moiety of the Plymouth claim above that place, would fall whhin 
the Duke's patent. It also embraced the greater part of the 
Pemaquid patent or " Drowne claim ;" all the " Brown" and 
some of the " Tappan right ;" and the whole of the Muscongus 
patent, to Beauchamp and Leverett.J The numerous islands 
along the seacoast are supposed likewise to be included, some 
of which were inhabited. The advancements in population, im- 
provement and wealth of these eastern plantations, though they 
were settled early ,§ had been quite gradual — probably owing in 
part to the evils suffered through inefficient legal regulations ; and 
therefore we find substantial reasons, why the people of the new 
Province were less opposed to a ducal or royal government. 
Conquest of To subduc the Dutcli Colonists at New- York, upon whom the 
*o!oiiists.' duke was looking with the greater jealousy and dislike, on ac- 
count of their dissenting religious sentiments; the king despatch- 
ed thither four frigates and about 300 men, under the command 
of Colonel Richard Nichols, and Sir Robert Carr. Unprepared 

* 1 Doug-. Summ. p. 381.— 1 Triim. Conn. p. 266. 

•f Sullivan, p. 285.— Hutch. Coll. 422. 

} See an account of these Grants and Rights, ante, Chap. iii. A. D. 1620 
-31, chap. V. A. D. 1637 ;— viii. A. D. 1650. 

§ Waller Phil/ips lived at Damariscotta lower falls, (New-Castle) ; -'?. 
Slwrle at Pemaquid ; John Brown, at IVew Harbor ; Sander Gould, at 
Broad Cove, on Broad Bay ; George Davie, at Wiscasset point; and John 
J^Iason, at Sheepscot Great Neck — men frequently mentioned in this age. 



Chap, xiv.] of maine. 409 

to resist a force so formidable, or to repel an attack so sudden A. D. 1664. 
and unexpected, the garrison capitulated, August 27tli, and 
Nichols assumed the government of the Province, as Deputy- 
Governor under his Royal Highness ;* — claiming the command 
also of his eastern territories at Sagadahock. 

Moreover, to settle the pretended controversies in the interior Royal 
of New-England ; to bring those to justice, who had traduced sionerT*' 
the government of the realm, and brought the ' christian religion 
into discredit among the gentile or savage inhabitants of the 
land ;' and to ascertain more perfectly the state and condition of his 
loyal subjects in the colonies ; the king, on the 1 6th of April, ap- 
pointed Messrs. Nichols and Carr, George Cartwright and Samuel 
Maverick, Commissioners, and empowered them to hear and de- 
termine all complaints, appeals, and other miitters coming before 
them, whether civil, military, or criminal — to proceed therein 
"according to their good and sound discretion," and thus "settle 
the peace and security of the country."f 

* Smith's N. Y. p. 11— 22.— See 3 Hume, p. 435— 7.— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 
212, 289.— CI. aimers, p. 386. 

f See this commission entire. -^1 Ilu'.rk. Itlst. App. — JVo. XV. p. 439-60. 
Hubbard's jV. E. p. 577-S.— 2 Flaz. Coll. p. Gi2.—Xii:liols was a military 
officer of experience, and possessed a generous disposition, a weight of 
character, and a versatility of talents, whicii eminentlj- qualified him to be 
placed at the head of the commission. He was the most popular of the 
four; and no decision of the others without liim was to be valid. Carr, a 
Ligh-toneJ royalist and episcopilian, was violent in his feelings and super- 
cilious in his deportment — a man nowise fitted for his station. lie died 
iminediately on his return home, three years after his appointment, and 
thus was buried in oblivion all the philippics he had prepared against 
the colonies. CartwrighU though "naturally morose, saturnine and suspi- 
cious," possessed an energy of intellect which brought him into the com- 
mission, and qualified him for tlie discharge of difficult public business. 
On his liomeward passage, he was made prisoner by the Dutch, and all 
his papers, including his note-book, designed by him to be used against the 
colonies, were taken from him, which he was never afterwards able to re- 
cover. J^Javerick, an inhabitant of Massachusetts, was a stubborn and 
restless royalist, greatly disaffected towards his countrymen, both on ac- 
count of their puritan principles and their blindness to his merits. He 
had spent two years in England after the restoration, constantly informing 
against the colony government, and urging the necessity of this commis- 
sion. As a reward for his works, he was appointed one of the board. The 
last act of Maverick, mentioned, was his bearing a message, three years 
afterwards from Colonel Nichols at New- York to the government at Boston 
Maverick's wife was the daughter of Rev. John ^Vheelwright of Wells. 
Vol. I. 30 



410 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1664. When Col Nichols was at Boston, July 23(1, on his way from 
vices. England to New-York, he made public the Commission ; and 

hence it soon became known throughout New-England.* Great 
and unhappy overturns were apprehended : nevertheless, the Bos- 
tonians adopted some measures to favor the expedition against 
the Dutch, which however, was ' crowned with success before 
'the auxiliaries were embodied. 'f 
A. D. 1663. Having settled the government of New- York, the Commis- 
sioners proceeded to Boston in February, where they were re- 
ceived with undissembled jealousy, and were soon encountered 
with direct opposition. For the General Court at a previous 
session in August, after resolving in a formal manner " to bear 
" true allegiance to his Majesty," determined " to adhere to their 
" patent so dearly obtained and so long enjoyed ;" and addressed 
a memorial to the king, urging the validity of their chartered rights, 
which he himself had been pleased to sanction, and complaining 
to him of a commission, filled with strangers and foes, whose 
only limits of power and rules of conduct were their own "dis- 
" cretion." 'Under the present administration, our people,' said 
the Court, ' enjoy great contentment with a few exceptions ; and 
' what government under heaven, they enquired, ever long existed 
' entirely free of disconteinted spirits and disturbers of the 
* peace.'! 

About the first of May, tlie Commissioners entered upon the 
discharge of their trust, and communicated their Instructions.^ 
By these, they said, it is manifest, that the king was so far from 
abridging any concessions or rights in the charter, that he was 
ready to enlarge or alter them " for the prosperity of the col- 
ony ;" and he had even directed them to remove every jealousy 
existing between king and people. With this view, they thought 
it their duty to enquire how the acts of trade have been regard- 
ed ; to look into the colonial laws, the education of youth, and 
the titles and claims to lands ; and furthermore to examine into 
their treaties with the Indians, and the provision made for their 
instruction. 

* Hubbard's IS. E p. 581.— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 211-229.— App. p. 460-4. 
—Morton's Mern. p. 187. 

f Chalmert, p. 573. — Carr aud Maverick arrived at Piscalaoua about the 
tame time. 

X I Hutohiason'a Hitit. p. 2ia { CLaii&eis, p. 33S-tJ, 



Mayl. 



Chap, xiv.] of maims. 411 

A conference between them and the General Court, soon de-A.D. 1CC5. 
generated into downright ahercation, and at last, the Commis- Opposition 
sioners plainly asked the Court, — " Do you acknowledge the (.'pnrrai 
" royal Commission to be of full force to all the purposes con- '"""^ ' 
tained in it ?" — To this pointed and embarrassing enquiry, the 
two branches excused themselves from giving a direct answer : — 
We prefer, said they, " to plead his Majesty's charter" through 
which the civil power flows to this colony. — The Commissioners 
then endeavored to hear a complaint against the Governor and 
company, but they were prevented by the General Court, which, 
with characteristic vigor, manifested their opposition by ordering 
a sound of trumpet, and prohibited the people from abetting a 
course of conduct, so inconsistent with their duty to God and 
their allegiance to the king.* In short, to such a height were 
the debates ultimately carried by the parties, in contrasting the 
king's Commission and Instructions with the Royal Charter and 
its rights, that the Commissioners thought it most expedient to 
break off the discussion. Nichols returned to New- York, and 
the others abruptly left Boston, early in June, for New-Hamp- 
shire, Maine and Sagadahock ;f — denouncing upon the colonists 
and government of jMassachusetts the doom due to rebels and 
traitors. 

With the Commissioners, John Joscelyn says, came John Arch- 
dale, the agent of Mr. Gorges bringing orders relative to the 
Province of ]Maine, and a letter to Massachusetts, from his Ma- 
jesty, by which she was required to restore the possession and 
government of it to the proprietor. Archdale on his arrival, vis- 
ited every town in the Province, and granted commissions to 
Henry Joscelyn of Black-point, Robert Jordan of Spurwink, 
Edward Rishworth of Agamenticus, and Francis Neale of Casco, 
who took upon themselves to rule, and who with Archdale ad- 
dressed a letter to the government of Massachusetts, requiring a 
surrender of the jurisdiction to the Commissioners of Mr. Gorges. 
But the entry of the king's commissioners into the Province sus- 
pended the civil authority of Gorges, which he never afterwards 
resumed. 



* 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 394. 

t 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 228.— Hubbard's N. E. p. 684-6. 



412 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Letter of king Charles to ilie provincials of 31ai.ic — Massachusetts 
revieios her claims tu the Province — Three parties there — A Coun- 
ty Court appointed — The measures of the Icing's Commissioners 
— They appoint eleven Justices for Maine and oppose Mnssachit- 
setts~— The General Court complain of them — The people of Ly-> 
gonia displeased tcith the Commissioners — Their memorial to the 
king — Commissioners proceed to the Duke's Province — They open 
a Court at Sheepjscot — Establish a county and appoint officers — 
Their other tneasures — Their ajfcial report — Indian Treaty — 
Skeepscot records — Commissioiicrs return to York — Tkeir account 
of the Duke's Prooince — -War with France — Unhappy condition 
of Maine and Sagadahock — Treaty of Breda — Nova Scotia re- 
signed to Prance — Disagreement of the Acaclians and Puritans 
■ — Col. Temple's loss of Nova Scotia. 

jiiu'eii^^* Charles having resolved to put Gorges into possession of 
Maine, addressed to the provincials a letter, dated the 11th of 
June, 1664, which was communicated, prohably through the me- 
dium of his Commissioners. — 

Tiie king's ' To our trustv and well beloved subjects and inhabitants in the 

Idler to the „ . ^ ,/ . , , . , ttt 

people of ' Frovince of Manie, and whom it may concern, ' We greet 

Maine, 

' you well. 

* As we are informed, — Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the grand- 
' father of the present proprietor, and a generous promoter of 
' foreign plantations, obtained a royal charter of Maine, and ex- 

* pended in settling it, more than £20,000 ; and yet was wholly 

* prevented from reaping the fruits of his expenditures and labors, 

* by the unhappy civil wars, wherein he though advanced in age, 
' bravely engaged in his master's service : — In the mean time, his 
' opponents, intoxicated with success as we understand, and deaf to 

* the voice of justice, have given countenance to measures by 
' which the' provincials have been brought within the jurisdiction of 

* Massachusetts-Bay, and the proprietary depriv'ed of all the is- 
' sues and profits of his property ; though according to the decision 

* of our " counsel, learned in the law," his right to the charter 
^ is fully established ; the Province ivas in possession of (he orig' 



Chap. XV.] OF MAINE. 413 

' inal proprietor and under his government several years ; the A. U. 1664. 

* large sums mentioned had been by him expended in settling and 

* managing it ; he has in the late civil wars, been plundered and 
' imprisoned several times; and being exhausted by losses, and 
'^ ill-treated by the ^^ pretended committees of foreign plantations," 
' he and his agents in those times of trouble, had left the inhab- 
^ it ants to the temporary government oj their choice. Since the 
' restoi-alion, he, by his commissioners, has endeavored to i-epos- 
' sess himself of his Province, and two years since, proclaimed 
' his Majesty king, established courts, and gave to many the oaths 

* of allegiance ; but the government of Massachusetts proiiibited 

* all further proceedings of those commissioners, till they had or- 

' ders from the supreme authority of the kingdom : We have 

'therefore taken the whole matter into our princely consideration, 

* (concludes the king) and have thought fit to signify our ))leasure 
' in behalf of Ferdinando Gorges, the present proprietor, and do 

* require you to make restitution of the Province to him or his 

* commissioners, and deliver him or them peaceable possession 
' thereof, or otherwise without delay show us reasons to the con- 
' trary : — and so we bid you — farewell,''^ 

When the General Court v.ere made acquainted with the con- Hemnrks of 
tents ol this letter, tliey undei'took to justify their conduct, to the Court, 
royal commissioners, by recapitulating the grounds and reasons, 
which induced them to receive the provincials under the govern- 
ment of the colony. His Majesty, as the court believed, was 
greatly misinformed as to the amount of disbursements made by 
Sir Ferdinando. It might be true as the inhabitnnts say, that IMr, 
Thomas Gorges and Mr. Vines, after deducting their own ex- 
penses, did lay out £500 of the proprietor's money for the pub- 
lic good, or possibly £1,000 may have been expended in the 
whole, through mismanagement in building a house in York, 
breaking up lands, and a few unskilful enterprizes. Massachu- 
setts however, was not the first to claim a considerable part of 
Maine, against the rights of Gorges. For, Baron Rigby, twenty 
years ago, entered upon a large portion of the territory, obtained 
a decision in his favor, and exercised government there till his 
death. f — Nay, did not all the agents of Sir Ferdinando aban- 
don the Province, to self-formed combinations and revolutionists, 

* Hutch. Coll. p. 305-388. fS Mass. Rec. p. 178—180. 



414 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. 1). 166].. long before Massachusetts asserted any right to it ? — Yet what 
was the nature or character of her claim ; surely it was not to the 
soil — by sales of which she expected to derive any pecuniary 
profits or avails. No : — but on the contrary it was exclusively 
protection and civil government, such as the inhabitants them- 
selves requested^ They had bound themselves by their oaths, their 
articles of agreement, and other voluntary acts to live in subjec- 
tion to the laws and authorities of Massachusetts, till their alle- 
giance might be expressly countermanded by the supreme gov- 
ernment of England. How then could they consistently with 
their solemn obligations, submit to another's control, who presum- 
ed to act without any evidence of such authority, or paramount 
right, and without process of law ? 
The dis- To the letter in behalf of Gorges, addressed by Henry Joscelyn, 

^" *■ John Archdale, Robert Jordan and Edward Rishworth, as before 

mentioned, unto the Governor and Council, requesting them to 
resign and surrender the jurisdiction of Maine, the General 
Nov. 30. Court, Nov. 30, replied, that they had determined to yield none 
of their rights in the Province, until their duties in this particu- 
lar were made plain and palpable. If the king's will were known, 
it was only through his address to the inhabitants, not by any 
mandate or express communication to the government of Massa- 
chusetts. Nor were the king's commissioners with all the power 
they possessed, authorized in a more special manner to take pos- 
session of Maine, than of any other Province, 
irco. Thus, the features of the troublesome controversy ere exhibit-- 

,ipl;'i,',' ''' ' ed to us, at tlie opening of the year 16G5. A party of the pro- 
^'"'^' vincials were devoted to the king's will, and of course friendly 
to the anticipated visit of his commissioners. Many, especially 
such as were land or office-holders under the Gorges' family, 
were the advocates of the present proprietary, and some of them 
claimed to exercise official authority under his appointment. 
Massachusetts was inexorable ; and numbers of the eastern peo- 
ple were strongly attached to her government. Therefore when 
John Archdale,* the proprietor's agent, came forward with an or- 
der under the royal " sign manual," requiring her to restore unto 
him Gorges' province, which he said she " had shamefully en- 
croached upon in the time of the civil wars," the General Court 

* Fuhoniy p. 91-2. Archdale was in the Province a year. 



CllAP. XV. J OF MAINE. 415 

told liim, that " the distracted condition ot' the people in York- a.D. iGGo. 
shire" required rather their protection and assistance, and that 
a government of their choice should never he hastily withdrawn 
from them. 

By the orders of that Body,* early in May, we find they speak May. 
with a positiveness not to be misunderstood. A County Court ^ 

, . . . County 

will be holden at York in the present as in previous years. All leguiaiions. 
civil officers will continue to exercise and perform their duties, 
and the inhabitants will show, as formerly, due obedience to the 
colony administration. If Edward Rishworth neglect his duty 
as County-Recorder, Peter Wyer will take his place, and to him 
the present incumbent will deliver the record-books and pa- 
pers. Since there is no resident magistrate in that county, 
Ezekicl Knight of Wells, will act as such in every particular, till 
the further order of the Legislature. Messrs Simonds and Dan- 
forth will hold the usual term of the Courts in York, die current 
year ; and all transgressors of the law, if any, will have its pen- 
alties measured to diem with all retributive justice. 

The king's commissioners, having visited the towns and plan- j,„,p, 
tations between Boston and Piscataqua, made a short tarry in JV"^'^ 

■* ■' (oiiiniis. 

New-Hampshire and passed the river, about the middle of June, ''i'"ieis in 

KIiier_) and 

into Kittery. Here they summoned the people together and de- York, 
scribed to them their inevitable ruin, if they continued under the 
* Bay-government.' Its rulers, said they, are rebels and traitors, 
— their contempts and crimes will soon be laid before his i\Iajes- 
ty, — and their doom can easily be foreseen. 

The position and authority assumed by the Commissioners 
were not only despotic and unwarrantable, but extremely in- 
discreet. They virtually assailed the charter of Gorges, 
telling die inhabitants, it granted privileges altogether too great 
and exclusive, ever to be possessed and exercised by his Majes- 
ty's most favored subjects, — Mr. Gorges being truly one. Hence 
they manifested a forwardness to assist them in obtaining security 
from the claims, both of him and the rulers of IMassachusetts. 

Next they exhibited a petition for signature, addressed to the 
king, praying for a new colony charter. This found signers, 
among those who were the friends or dupes of these arbitrary 
men ; also among the licentious, who are ever impatient of re- 



*3 M»£3. Ilec. p. 116—17. 



416 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1665, straint, and bankrupts, who were anxious of relief or respite 
from their debts. Such as were unyielding, they loaded with re- 
proaches, the volatile they flattered, and the timid they threat- 
ened. All who did not comply, were told, that their names 
would be returned to his Majesty, and their disloyalty painted to 
him in its true colours. So affrighted and amazed were several 
of them, that they afterwards declared they did not know what 
they had done. Many of the better and more sensible people 
looked upon themselves in a condition to be utterly ruined ; and 
began to entertain thoughts of removing with their families and 
estates, to some plantation or place of more quiet and greater 
security. 

At York, the Commissioners passed several days, undertaking 
to form and establish a superstructure of civil authority, through- 
out the Province. In this, they seem to have acted according 
to the dictates of their own will, without regard either to the char- 
ter of Gorges or the claim of Massachusetts. 

Their official order was essentially in these words : — * 
" By the King's Commissioners for settling the affairs of New- 
England." 

' We having seen the several charters granted to Sir 

L. s. ' Ferdinando Gorges and to the Corporation of Massa- 

' chusetts Bay, and duly weighed the matters in contro-' 

* versy, do now receive all his Majesty's good subjects, living 
' within the Province of Maine, under his immediate protection 
' and government. We also . appoint and constitute Francis 
' Champernoon and Robert Cutis of Kittery ; Edward Risk' 

* worth and Edward Johnson of York ; Samuel Wheelwright of 

* Wells ; Francis Hooke and William Phillips of Saco ; George 
' Mountjoy of Casco ; Henry Joscelyn of Black-point ; Robert 
' Jordan of Richmond's Island j and John Wincoln of Newicha- 

* wannock, Justices of the Peace ; and constitute them a Court 

* to hear and determine all causes, civil and criminal, and to or- 
' der all the affairs of the said Province for the peace and de- 
' fence thereof ; — proceeding in all cases according to the laws 
' of England as near as may be, till the appointment of another 
' government by the Crown. 

' In his Majesty's name we require all the inhabitants of said 



*3 Mass. Rcc, p. 1( 



Chap, xv.] of malnl'. 417 

* Province, to yield obedience to the said Justices, and forbid as a D. 166&, 
' well the Commissioners of Mr. Gorges, as the Corporation of 

* Massachusetts-Bay, to molest any of the inhabitants of this Pro- 

* vince, till his Majesty's pleasure be known. 

" Given under our hands and seals at York, within the said 

«' Province, the 23d of June, 16C5." 

" Robert Carr. 

" George Cartwright. 

" Samuel Maverick." 

They also prescribed a form of oath, which they administered ,, 

to these magistrates of their appointment ;* and resolved in sup-s'<"'e'sre- 

i 1 / 1 5jj( ,|,g 3y, 

port of their own authority, to oppose the two Assistants who Hwriiy of 
were expected from Boston to join the Associates as usual, and sens. 
hold a County Court, and if possible to prevent a session. There- 
fore, Carr, a bolder spirit than his colleagues, issued an order, July 
2, to the commander of the militia company in these words ; — 

" To Capt. John Davis, or in his absence to the next officer in 
" command : 

" In his Majesty's name, you are required to give notice to 
"your company, that without fail, they do appear in arms on 
" Tuesday morning next, in the field, where they usually meet, 
" there to attend further orders." R. Carr. 

In the provincial form of government now established and put Govern- 
in operation. General Assemblies, composed of all in commission, tuied.'""' 
and of burgesses or deputies from the several towns, were holden at 
York, which was evidently appointed to be the seat of government. 
The Royal Commissioners directed, whenever the Justices were 
equally divided on any subject, that Mr. Joscelyn should have 
the casting vote — if he be absent, Mr. Jordan. Another order 
allowed juries of seven men only, ' on account of the fewness 
of the inhabitants,' to be impanelled for the trial of cases ; and 
the first inferior Court under this organization of the government 
was holden at Wells, in July following, the second at York, Nov. 
7. — William Phillips was appointed Major-commandant of the mili- 
tary forces in the Province ; R. Hitchcock and John Lazer, offi- 
cers of the Saco and Cape Porpoise companies. f 

* See post, Sept. 5, 1665. 

t At the July term in Wells mentioned, the Court ordered « every town 
' to take care that there be in it a pair of stocks, a case and couking 
Vol. T. 40 



418 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1505. When the Assistants arrived at Piscataqua from Boston, they 
were informed of the call made upon the militia, and the menaces 
uttered and spread by the Commissioners ; and therefore to avoid 
an open rupture with men, whose tarry and overtures in the Pro- 
vince must be short, they proceeded no farther ^ immediately re- 
turning home and reporting the facts to their government* 

Never were men and their course of measures more universal- 
ly unpopular. Massachusetts inveighed against them vehement- 
ly, charging them whh a violation of their own commission and 
instructions : For no official acts or proceedings of the Board, 
without the presence and approbation of Col. Nichols, were to 
be valid ; nor were they ever to disturb any ancient establish- 
ment of patent claims, nor in any event interrupt the ordinary 
course of justice ; whereas they were authors of the boldest and 
most violent measures, without the king's consent, or knowledge ; 
and had struck a deadly blow at chartered rights, as well as at 
the public tranquillity. ' Are these the disciples of peace .'' nay, 

* in Job's time, said the General Court, it was the province of a 
' day's man to appease antagonists, by laying the peace-maker's 

• hands on both ; but the wisdom or artifice of these men, have 
' converted the temple of peace into a forum of wretchedness.' 
The Court also, by way of a remonstrance, spread the Commis- 
sioner's conduct before the king, with a correct portrait of its 
deformities. 

_. , ,. Equally opposed to the Commissioners and to Gorges were 

goniansnd- the eastern provincials, or inhabitants of Lygonia. They were 
king- fully aware of their unhappy condition, and in consideration of 

the king's letter, to them and the rest of Maine, the preceding 
year, they prepared a memorial to him, August 1, which was 
signed by George Cleaves, and twenty-one of his friends and 
neighbors. f It commenced, and proceeded thus : — 



Au°rust I. 



' [ducking-] stool, erected between this and the next court.' The latter 
was the oUi in?.triimciit fur the punishment of common scolds. It consisted 
of a long: beam moving' like a well-sweep upon a fulcrum ; the end ex- 
tended over a pond, on which the culprit was placed and immersed, f'ol- 
toni's Saco and Biddeford, p. 96. 

* 3 Mass. Rec. p. 207—8. 

f Their names are George Cleaves, George Mountjoy, Francis Neale, 
Phinehas Rider, Richard Martin, Benjamin Attrell, John Injrersoll, 
George Ingersoll, JoLa Wakelcy, John Phillips, Robert Corbin, Henry 



Chap, xv.] of Maine. 4I9 

'The humble petition of the inhabitants at Casco in the Pro-A.D. igG5. 

* vince of Maine, represents, agreeably to your Majesty's com- 
' mand, our several reasons, why we could not submit to Mr. 
' Gorges... But j^r.9^ — To our most gracious father, we, your hum- 
*bl3 subjects, inhabiting a wilderness in the northern parts of 
' your dominions, would return our most dutiful and hearty thanks, 
' for your princely care of us and our children. Required by 
' your ]Majesty to render submission to Mr. Gorges or assign our 
' reasons for declining it, we are frank to say, we have no dispo- 

* sition to oppose his government, whenever our obedience is ex- 

* pressly commanded by your Majesty. In our union however, 
' with Massachusetts, wc all pledged our allegiance to her gov- 
' ernment, till our royal sovereign should otherwise determine 

* and direct. Vet we have found by happy experience, as your 
' Majesty very justly intimates, that her maxims of policy, pru- 
' dence and moderation, and her principles of amity and justice, 
' so much the causes of her own eminence, have since our short 
' connexion with her, been the means of our contentment and 
' prosperity, far beyond what wc have enjoyed during any former 

* period of the same length. The Commissioners, nevertheless, 

* forbid our submission to her government, and likewise to Mr. 

* Gorges ; and in return she withholds our allegiance from them. 
' So unhappily situated, we humbly entreat your Majesty not to 

* believe us disloyal, because our names are not found on thepeti- 
' tion for a change of government or rulers, as we have no just 
' cause of complaint against either Mr. Gorges or Massachusetts ; 

* — being taught by the best authority, that ' obedience is better 
' thmi sacrifice,'' and contentment is our duty, wherever the allot- 
' ment of God in his Providence, and your JMajesty's commands 
' shall cast us. 

' Threatened as we are, for not signing the petition and sub- 

* mitting to the Commissioners, we beseech your IMajesty to take 

* these reasons and our case, under your fatherly eye and give us 

* directions ; for it is the design of our hearts to act correctly and 
' uprightly ; and we would rather submit to whatever government 
' may be appointed over us, than to contend, or to direct what it 
'should be.'* 

Williams, Ambrose Boadeo, George Lewis, John Lewis, Thomas Skilling', 
Thomas Skiliiug jr., John Skilling', John Clojes, Thomas Wakeley, John 
Rider, Nathaniel Wallii. * Hutch. Coll. p. 396—339. 



420 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. iC6j. The Commissioners, after spending more than two months m 
sio^Ts'^g-o the Province, principally at York, Scarborough, and Falmouth, 
liockf^'^' ifi settling or rather revolutionizing the government, proceeded to 
the Duke's territory of Sagadahock or New Castle. It is sup- 
posed to have been at this period and afterwards, that several 
Dutch families removed from New-York into the territory, and 
settled upon the eastern banks of the Sheepscot, and the western 
banks of the Damariscotta, about the lower falls of those rivers.* 
Bepi 5. A Court was first opened by the Commissioners, Sept. 5, at 

J/gg'g™^^*" the dwellinghouse of John Mason,\ who lived on the east bank 
sbeepscct. q^ Sheepscot river — at the Great Neck, not far from a block 
house or small fort ; which was half a league westerly of Dam- 
ariscotta lower falls. 

Being now within the Duke's own patent and Province, as they 
supposed, whereof the whole was under the admipistration of 
Col. Nichols the Governor, the other Commissioners were per- 
haps authorized to act now without his concurrence. Here were 
no conflicting jurisdictions. Destitute of any regular government, 
the inhabitants were not reluctant to render obedience unto any 
power, that was able and willing to protect them. The nominal 
administration at Pemaquid under Mr. ShurteJ was still a mere 
conservation of the peace without much system or efficiency. 

The Commissioners appointed Walter Phillips of Damaris- 
cotta, clerk and recorder, whose book of records was entitled 
" the rolls of such acts and orders, passed the first sessions hol- 
den in the territories of his Highness the Duke of York, on the 
eastern and northern side of Sagadahock and extending to Nova 
Scotia ; — -begun at the house of John Mason on the river Sheeps- 



■* Snllican, p. 3G--38— 153— 283—291,— At V/oodbridgc's neck on the east- 
ern bank of the Slieepscot river, a mile above VViscasset point or vil- 
lage, there are appearances of a very ancient settlement — where the cavi- 
ties of many cellars are now manifest, though there are trees in some of 
them of a large siac, 

f Mason piircliuseJ (he land of two Sagamores, RoLiniiood and Jack Pud- 
ding. Sullivan, p. 63— 289.— Mr. Randolph came hi(her aflcr (he Revo, 
lution, claiming through his mother, heirship to John Mason's lands, his 
ancestor. He said his parents told him he was born at Sheepscot, and the)' 
fled with him when an infant to New-Jersey, to escape the tomahawk. 
He produced papers certified by Walter Phillips, and had a copy of Gen. 
cral Dungan's commission. But his claim was obsolete Sull. p 15G. 

I Si.ur!'- is suppjscl (o have dinl .it Pc;naquiJ, A. D. 1690. 



Chap, xv.] of MAINE. 421 

cot, Sept. 5th, in the 17th year of the reign of our Sovereign v. i>. I6J5. 
Lord the King, Anno Domini 1665." 

They erected the whole territory into a county, hy the name 
of Cornwall ; named the Sheepscot plantation Dartmouth or 
JVew- Dartmouth ; and settled the dividing line between it and 
Pemaquid. 

Next, they summoned the inhabitants in the several settle- 
ments, to appear and submit to his JMajesty's government, with- 
in the Duke's patent. Only twenty-nine however,* appeared 
and took the oath of allegiance, at this term ; — probably a minor 
part of the whole number of men between Sagadahock and Pe- 
nobscot. 

In the construction and establishment of civil government 
they appointed a chief constable, three magistrates or justices of 
the peace, and a recorder. The justices were J\''ickolas Ilaynal 
of Sagadahock, Thomas Gardiner of Pemaquid, and William 
Dyer of Dartmouth, being, as the commissioners said, the ablest 
and ' best men to be found in those places.' The same oath was 
administered to these as to the justices appointed in the Province 
of Maine, to wit; — You as justice of the peace do swear, that 
you will do equal right to the poor and rich, after the laws and 
customs oj England, according to your cunning and power. 
You shall not be of counsel to any party. You shall not let or 
hinder for gift or other cause, but ivell and truly you shall do your 
office of justice of the peace. Three justices in jMaine, viz. Couns and 
Henry Joscelyn, Robert Jordan, and George Mountjoy, assisted oe^s iil the 
by the preceding three, were constituted a Court, and directed 'gj||"^ *'"''' 
to hold sessions for the trial of all causes, " till further order." 
Their jurisdiction southward or westward, was limited by the 
river Sagadahock, including about thirty or forty families upon 
the islands and eastern side of the river, formerly within the 
Plymouth patent. But the Commissioners being aware, proba- 



* In Sagadahock — William Friswell, Richard HaminoncI, John Miller, 
Robert !\Iorp;an, Tlioiiias Parker, Marcus Pareoiis, Tlioinas Watkins, John 
While. — ill " SlurpscoC — Win. Dole, Wm. Dyer, (Esq.) Christoplier D3er, 
Nathan! ■! Draper, Thomas Gents, AVni. James, Wm. Markcs, Jo/t;i J/a.90Ji, 
Thomas Mercer, Walter Phillips, [Clerk,] flloscs Pike, Robert Scott, 
Anilrew Stalg'er, John Taj lor, John White. — In Pemaquid — Thomas Al- 
hridge, [Elbridgc,] Edmund Arrowsmith, Georg^e Biickiand, Henry Champ- 
tiess, Thomas Gardiner.— o/'.^rro'cWci— .Nicholas Raynal. — Sullivan, p. 287. 



422 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. iGfi5. bly, of the royal commission to Governor Temple,* and of the 
charter to Beauchamp and Leverett, seem not to have exercised 
any authority northwardly beyond JNIuscongus river. ■{• In try- 
ing any cause, civil, ecclesiastical or criminal, if the justices 
were equally divided in opinion, Henry Joscelyn was entitled to 
a double or casting vote. 

The chief constable had the power to appoint deputies ; and 
the following precepts will show us the forms of process, also how 
he was authorized to act. 

To the Constable on the eastward side of the Kenneheck river 
or his Deputy. — Greeting. 

By virtue hereof, you are required in his Majesty^s name, and 
under the authority of his Highness, the Duke of York, to ap- 
prehend the body or goods of C. Laivson, and take bond of him 
to the value of £120, ivith sufficient surety or sureties, for his 
personal appearance at a special court, to be held at Arrowsick, 
the 21th of this present JSovember, then and there to answer to 
the complaint of E. Dawner, for not yielding a debt due by bill, 
bearing date the 3d day of June, 1665. Hereof you are not to 
fail, as you will anstver it at your peril ; and so make true return 
under your hand. Dated this \st JVovember, 1665. 

NICHOLAS RAYNAL, Jus. Pads. 

The officers return. — JVovember, 1665. 

I have attached the body of C. Laivson, and have taken bail 
for his appearance at the next Court, to answer to the complaint 
of Ed. Dawner in an action of the case : This is a true re- 
turn.l RICHARD LEMONS, Constable. 

These imperfect sketches, are the prominent features of the 

measures, civil administration, undertaken to be framed by these Commis- 

sioners.§ Short sighted statesmen — unacquainted with the genius 



* Hutch. Coll. p. 244-5. 

\ " Governor Duncan, ag'ent of the Duke of York, removed many Dutch 
" families from the banks of tlie Hiidsou to his New Province on the 
" Sheepscot. They tarried there until the settlements were broken up by 
"the wars which were soon after commenced by the savajes. — Sullivan^ 
p. 291. 

I Sullivan, p. 291. 

\ The laws of the Duke's Province, collected by Governor Nichols, and 
confirmed by the Duke, have been examined by the compiler of this his- 
tory ; but he can find in them no particular mention of his eastern pa- 
tent. 



Chap, xv.] of Maine. 423 

of the people, their necessities, and the poHtical remedies a. d. 1665. 
needed, they formed no regular system of government ; their 
whole management giving full proof of their inadequacy to the 
magnitude of the trust to which they had been commissioned. 
No provision was made for legislation, trials by jury, military 
defence, taxation, religious instruction, or the education of 
youth. Though they found settlements scattered to a wide ex- 
tent, some of which were more than forty years old, and also a 
population probably of three hundred families,* who treated their 
measures and authority with the utmost civility ; their ill-nature 

prompted them to represent the whole as only "three small plan- c<>mmi«- 

. . . . sioiiers ro- 

tations belonging to his royal highness," viz. " on the northeast of port. 

"Kennebeck, on Sheepscot river and on Pemaquid ;" 'the 

* largest of which,' they said, ' did not contain more than thirty 

* houses, and all of them mean.' The people, whose allotments 
were labor and poverty, being strangers to the pleasures and ben- 
efits of society, and strong in the hopes of finding the commis- 
sioners their benefactors, were represented by them, to be mere 
fishermen, and fugitives from justice, unused to the restraints of 
government. Listening to an instance of lasciviousncss related to 
them, they gave it a turn of ridicule upon the planters generally, 
by stating in their report,f afterwards made, that ' some of them 
' have as many shares in a woman, as they have in a fishing 
' boat.' 

It is said the Commissioners established the form of an ecclesi- 
astical constitution, which, though cast in an episcopal mould, was 
remarkable for its simplicity and liberal principles. Assurances 
were given the inhabitants, that their possessions and rights should 
not be disturbed. J But no adequate redress of wrongs was pro- 
vided ; and in all conveyances, as well by the planters as by the 
Duke's agents,§ it appears the policy was revived of incumbering 
them with quit-rents. 

But the unequal numbers of the inhabitants, compared with ,^ ,^^3,^ 
the natives, and some apprehensions of a rupture, induced the j^n'^'i'/g,'," 
Commissioners to negotiate a treaty with the Sagamores, which 
contained provisional articles, too judicious and memorable not 



* Eiglity-four families in IG:>0. — S". T/avis" Report. — And 175 f.imilics in 

16T3 Sullivan, p. 391. 

fSce this report. — Hutch, CoU. p. J2i— 5. 

; Sullivan, p. 170-188. \ Sullivan, p. 162 o 374. 



Sheepscol 
Records. 



424 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 16G5. to be mentioned. For it was agreed, "that if any mischief 
should happen to be done either by the English or Indians" — re- 
dress was to be sought by complaint to the Courts, if an Indian m 
were the sufferer, and to the Sagamores, when the English were 
injured : — and never were they, on either side, to seek revenge 
by acts of hostility. This, if religiously observed, ' might have 
' been, as Mr. Hubbard* remarks, a perfect preventive of blood- 
« shed.' 

The " Sheepscot records" sometimes called the " Records of 
eastern claims of lands," which were commenced under the 
Commissioners by Walter Phillips, contained a registry of grants 
under the Duke, of Indian deeds and other conveyances, and 
were continued about fifteen years. Afterwards, the book was 
removed to the Secretary's office in Boston, and was considered 
to be of great authority, till it was lost.f 

Early in October, the Commissioners returned to York. In 
passing or returning through Casco, they opened a Court, and 
among other arbitrary proceedings, pronounced all land-titles ob- 
tained from the Lygonian proprietor and all Indian deeds, the 
merest nullities. The avowal of such a sentiment, though it 
fanned the fire of indignation, seems to have been apprehended ; 
for it is said that Massachusetts previously confirmed all the lands 
in Falmouth to the inhabitants. Taking umbrage at every oppos- 
ing measure of that colony, the Commissioners were ready to 
hear any complaint against her. The famous John BonythonJ 
showed them a warrant which ordered him to be arrested and 



Commis- 
sloi.ers at 
Casco and 
York. 



* ilubbard's N. E. 335,— His Indian Wars, p. 297. 

f It is said that Phillips, to avoid the Indian tomahawk, fled to Charles- 
ton, Massachusetts, A. D. 1G80, where he died. — It is supposed the records 
were consumed by fire when the Boston Court House was burnt. Simon 
Frost of Kittcry says, in his depositions of June 2, 1765, that 25 years be- 
fore when Deputy Secretary, under J. Willard, Esq. he took copies from 
that book ; and when the Court House was burnt, in 1748, he was Repre- 
sentative from Kittery, and with others made search for the rscords soon 
after, but they could not be found ; nor have they since been seen. 

J It is not known when or where this troublesome man died. He was 
furious, obstinate and unpopular. The g-rave stones of this man show 
him to have been interred at Rendezvous Point on (he cast side of the 
Saco — upon wliich some imknown hand inscribed this ill-natured couplet. 

" Here lies Bonyllion the Sagamore of Saco. 

*' He liv'd a rog-ue, and died a knave, and went lo Hockemocko^ 



Chap, xv.] of mainl. 425 

carried to Boston, " dead or alive j" merely as he said, because a. d. 1665. 
he would not bow to her government. 

At York, where they prolonged their visit, they pretended 
that the eastern inhabitants and a great Sachem also, had peti- 
tioned the king to receive them under his protecting hand, and 
appoint Sir Robert Carr their Governor. They gave quite a ro- Thpfr ac- 
mantic account of the Duke's eastern country. They repre- i^ukn-s 
sented, that the numerous " islands, harbors and outlets, upon ''"^■'""• 
*' the coast were richly stored with great fish, oysters and lob- 
"sters;" that the interior abounded with " wild ducks, geese, 
" deer," and other game, and also with " strawberries, raspber- 
ries, gooseberries, barberries, several sorts of bilberries m 
their seasons ;" and that they found " several kinds of oaks, and 
"pines, — and the chesnut and walnut trees, sometimes for four or 
" five miles together."* 

To oppose them in the exercise of authority, the General 
Court despatched Messrs Dan forth. Lusher and Leverett, to hold 
a term of Yorkshire Court in October. f But they were stopped 
at Piscataqua, Oct. 10, by a sharp letter sent to them from Kit- 
tery by Carr, who ordered them to desist from their purpose, and 
proceed no farther. — They therefore returned to Boston and 
were soon followed by the Commissioners. 

When they arrived, they were charged by the General Court, 
with disturbing the public peace; and were requested to meet a 
committee for the purpose of a conference. — Ao, not a word 
need pass, replied Carr ;-— but remember, the king's pardon of 
the late rebellion is conditional, and the authors of the opposi- 
tion among you must expect the punishment awarded the rebels 
in England — and you well know their fate.^ 

Here all intercourse with them terminated. Recalled by the K^gg 
king,^ they in a few months, departed the colon)', — at a time They nre 

1 1 I r • II -111 recalled and 

when the public attention was arrested and occupied by the news depart, 
of war, declared by the French king against England. || 

In the first year of this war, extensive preparations were made war with 
by the British cabinet, for the reduction ot Canada ; and no '^'^"*^*'' 
other conquest, on this side of the Atlantic, could give equal 



* Hutch. Coll. p. 424. f 3 Mass, Rec. p. 208. 

\ 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 228—9. ; 1 Belk. X. H. p. 97.— Hub. N. E. p. 386. 
11 A war to aiil Holland — against England. — 6 Hume p. 440. 
Vol I. 41 



426 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. i66rj.Qj,p^gjQj^ fQj. general joy. The idng required Massachusetts to 
take the lead among the colonies in the enterprize ; and Gover- 
nor Nichols expressed the greatest anxiety for the speedy move- 
ment of her troops. He said it was reported that the French had 
700 men under marching orders against Albany ;* and nothing 
but the arms or enmity of the Mohavvks,f while remaining un- 
subdued, could form any barrier, to impede the progress of the 
French and Canadian forces. 

But the enlistments were not completed and the necessary 

October, preparations ready till October. It was then too late and wholly 
impracticable, in the opinion of the General Court and of Gov- 
ernor Temple, an experienced officer who had been consulted, 
to march a body of troops over rocky mountains, and through 
rugged deserts, a distance of 1,400 miles against a formidable 
enemy ;J — and the campaign was not undertaken. 

Maine and Never was a country more open and exposed to the incur- 

bofk.^^' sions of an enemy, than the region was at that time, between 
Piscataqua and Nova Scotia. The inhabitants, scattered and 
defenceless, were without fortifications, without arms or military 
stores, and without even any common bond of union. All the 
settlements upon a seacoast, 200 miles in extent, were situated 
near the best harbors, tempting in every thing except poverty, to 
the visits of invaders. The enemy on their rear, who had by 
this time acquired a singular missionary influence among the jeal- 
ous savages, hated the puritan planters, and especially coveted 
this eastern country. Nor was this all. Distracted with political 
dissensions, the eastern people had none to help or protect them ; 
though it were well known how many claimed to control and 
rule them. In three or four years, all traces of the king's com- 
missioners were obliterated, a few monumental evils excepted ; and 
Massachusetts was evidently the only power, to which the inhab- 
itants could look with any prospect of assistance, § either in war 
or peace. 

* " M. de CourccUos, appointed Governor of New-France, transported 
" the regiment of Carigtiau Saliicrcs to Canada." — 1 Holme.i' A. Ann, p. 396. 
— And with it cante Baron de Castine. 

+ The French established a peace with the Mohawks, A. D. 1667. 

1 3 Mass. Rec. p. 268. 

J Massachusetts at this time had a militia, consisting " of l,OC0 foot and 400 
kor8C."—l Uolmet' A. Ann. p. 3»4. 



Chap, xv.] OF Maine. 427 

Happily for them the war was short, though its consequences a. d. iC67. 
formed a lamentahle train of evils. A cessation of hostilities in 
the spring was followed by two treaties, which the English con- Treaty of 
eluded at Breda, July 31, 1GG7, one with France and the other 31*'"*' "' 
with Holland. In these negotiations, the English agreed to sur- 
render Nova Scotia to the French ; and Holland resigned to 
England, the Dutch colony at the Hudson. 

The recession or return of the Acadian Province to France, 
was generally lamented throughout New-England.* Indeed, 
since Sir Thomas was the territorial proprietor, as well as the 
Governor, it was a great question among statesmen, and perhaps 
the English envoy himself doubted, if the crown could cede 
any other right than that of sovereignty or the government. For 
the cession was not in the treaty itself, but through the pressure 
and influence of the French embassy, was subsequently made 
an appendant article. 

Except under the administration of Governor Temple, the -p^^ French 
Acadian French had been always disae;reeable to their New- ?"^ Kn?''sii 
England neighbors. For their motives of action, their habits of 
life and thought, their pursuits and plans in business, and in fact, 
all the qualities and shades of their character, differed as widely 
from those of the English, as the two people were unlike in their 
language, tlieir religious tenets and their political sentiments. In 
short, they agreed in nothing, except in the forms and gifts of 
nature. Let a bigoted catholic, ever servile to the dictates of 
Jesuit priests, a slavish subject, believing in the divine right "of 
kings, a Frenchman devoted to savage society, the chase, the 
wigwam or an Indian wife, be contrasted with puritan piety, poli- 
tics, intelligence and taste for refinements; and one will not find 
it difficult to understand the causes of mutual dislike, nor to de- 
termine on which side were enmity and the avenger. Among 
the disciples of papacy, all protestants were esteemed heretics, 
whose liberty, wealth and life itself, according to their creed, it 
was no sin to sacrifice. 

The Indians schooled by the same spiritual teachers, imbibed 
a similar disposition, and were easily bloated with the same opin- dian*."' 
ions. The original estrangement and malignity of the eastern 
and western tribes towards each other, were observed to be grad- 

♦ Hutch. Coll. p. 489. 



428 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1» 

A. D 1667. ually yielding to the vibrations of intercourse. Their natural 
cunning, sharpened by necessity, prompted them to trespass and 
pilfer at a distance from home. Hence, the people were satis- 
fied, that the Eastern Indians were the perpetrators of certain 
mischiefs, committed in the autumn of 1667, among the domes- 
tic animals, and in the cornfields and meadows of Hadley upon 
Connecticut river ; and the sufferers sent to Robinhood, a chief 
Sagamore at Kennebeck, demanding redress and threatening 
him and his tribe with the utmost severities, if the offences were 
repeated. To promote amity with them, license was at length 
given to the traders in fur and in peltries, to sell unto Indian friends, 
guns and ammunition.'^" 

The proprietary rights of Temple to the territory of Nova 
Scotia, no one in justice could deny. But perceiving it was the 
determination of the French to obtain it, and the agreement of 
the English to surrender it, he entered into a negotiation with 
his master's ministry upon the subject. In consideration of a re- 
linquishment, he exacted a reimbursement of the purchase money, 
and the expenses bestowed upon fortifications, and incurred in 
other improvements. The total estimate was found to be 
£16,200, — -a sum which the crown agreed to pay him.f 

. ^ ,r.^^ Immediately afterwards, in February 1668, the articlet of 
A. D 16C8 _ •' J ^ + 

to 1669. cession was tacked to the treaty of Breda, and all Acadia, with- 
re'sTgnedTr °^^ ^"7 Specification as to boundaries, including by name, " St, 
France. John's, Port-Royal, La Heve, Cape Sable, and Pentagoet," or 
Penobscot, as being parts of the Province, was ordered into the 
possession of the French. Not being paid the money, he delay- 
ed the surrender, till by his Majesty's special command, in 1669,§ 
he was forced to submit, without the consideration promised him, 
which he never received ; and Capt. Wibourne at Penobscot, 
and Richard Walker, the proprietary's Lieutenant-Governor, 
made at last a formal siu'render of the whole, to INlons. le Grand 
Fontaine. It was a hardship sensibly felt by Sir Thomas; and 
as it occurred just before his death which was in 1674, he devis- 
ed the money, or otherwise his interest in the Province, to his 
nephew William Nelson and his heirs. But being unable to avail 

* 3 Mass. Rcc. p. 2oD— 272. f Pa!airet,p. IS, 

I Chalmers, p. 393. See tlie article in appenoix, ps'. 
J Brit. Emp. in America, p. 22.— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 237. 



Chap, xv.] of Maine. 429 

himself of any advantage from the bequest, Nelson transferred A. D. IGGS, 

*" to 16G9i 

it [A. D. 1730] to Samuel Waldo of Boston, who applied to the 
crown either to pay him the money, award him the Province, or 
grant him an equivalent in other American lands*.* Nothing 
however was allowed him, and his claim sank into oblivion. 

It is said, the first French Governor was M. dc Bourg ;f prp„ci> ru- 
and after him Mons. Denys was appointed Lt. Governor in Aca-y^^"^'^"*'* 
dia, who resided in the country thirty years ; and in 1 672, pub- 
lished a short history of it at Paris. f The French occupied the 
country from Cape Breton to Penobscot ; and built stockaded forts 
at the latter place, at Port-Royal and at the river St. Johns.§ 

In returning to the administration of government, instituted by a. D. IGGS, 
the king's Commissioners, we find that within the Province previ- Affairs of 
ously bisected into two divisions, by a partition line through Ken- '^'^'"®- 
nebunk river, the courts, established consisted of four, the Gen^ 
eral Assembly, Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Quarter 
Sessions, and single Justice Courts for the trial of causes under 
40s. by a jury of seven men. The first had sessions annually 
in May or June at Saco ; the second three times, and the third 
four times in a year in each division, at York and at Falmouth, 
Offences were presented by grand juries, and facts determined 
by juries of trials. At a court holden at Casco for the eastern 
division, in July 1GG6, by Heiny Joscelyn, William Phillips, 
Francis Hooke, Edward Rishworth, and Samuel Wheelwright, 
styled the " Justices of the peace appointed by special commission 
from the Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Carr, Lt. Col. George Cartvvright 
and Samuel Maverick Esq." it was ordered, that the selectmen of 
Falmouth should have the oversight of children and servants and 
correct such as were disobedient; that George JMountjoy have 
power to administer oaths, join parties in marriage, and see if the 
weights and measures in town were according to the king's 
standard at Winchester. The sale of liquors to the Indians was 
prohibited : — non-attendance at public worship, sabbath-breaking, 
and profanity, were made punishable by a justice of the peace. 

* Palairet, p. 19. f Hutch. Coll. p. 489-543. 

\ Mass. Letter Book, p. 104. After him Manival was Governor. 
} 1 Brit. Dom. io Arn. p 246. 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p 399,404. 



430 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. \r>Gf,, The courts when holdins; their terms in York, were evidently 

1GG7, 16G8. .,,,,, . , ■ ^ r ,, , , 

guided by the laws previously received Irom Massachusetts ; and 
the last General Assembly under the new government, was holden 
at Saco, in May 1 688 ; after which the people sought to be un- 
der the jurisiliction of Massachusetts.* 

* 1 Maine Hist. Soc. Coll. p. 117-126.— George Cleaves died about 1666, 
rnncli embarrassed in his pecuniary affairs. Henry Joscelyn, being- great- 
ly in debt to Joshua ficottow of Boston, made a conveyance to him, in 
1666, of tiie Cammock patent at Black-point, except his homestead, and aa 
adjoining tract ; — upon which purchase the grantee afterwards resided. 



Chap. XVI.] OF MAINE. 43 j 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Political confusion in Maine — Appointment of Commissioners by 
MassacJmsctls to settle the affairs there — Governor Nichols' op- 
position — 7'he Commissioners visit York — Altercations between 
them and the Justires — Massachusetts raumes the irovernment of 
Maine — Appointment of officers and courts of justice — John and 
Henry Joseclyn — State of the eastern Province — Re-svrvey and 
extent of the Massachusetts' patent, eastward — The county of 
Devonshire established — Its eijficers and regulations — Peace tcith 
the Dutch — A new patent to the Duke of York — Courts in 
Maine — The provincial militia and population — Taxes — Happy 
union of Massachusetts and Maine — Claim of Gorges and Ma- 
son — Visit of Edward Randolph — His representations — The 
agents of .hassaehusetts at the court of England — Their instruc- 
tions — Decision by a committee of Privy Council — Maine pur- 
chased by Massachusetts. 

At the end of three or four years, after the king's Commis- a.i\ iG6e, 
sioners were recalled, the affairs of Gorges' Province relapsed "'''^' 

1 ti r • * TT- • -1 M.inelna 

into lamentable conliision. His partisans entertauied no great cmiiuscd 
affection for this new non-descript administration ; nor did he 
himself give it any special support. Tiic Justices apj)ointed 
were not the most popular men. In their attempts to discharge 
their duties, the experiment was unavailing ; — for numbers called 
in question the validity of their authority, and the lawfulness of 
the power, which they were endeavoring to exercise. Many 
hearts beat high for a return of the prosperous days, enjoyed 
while connected with Massachusetts ; and the principal men be- 
sought her governn)ent, to reassume the jurisdiction of the Pro- 
vince. f 

The General Court, at their session in JMav 1 668, observing '^- ^ I66s. 
the present to be the third year since any member had appeared consuiered" 
from Maine, and finding a restoratioVi of political order, and a [^ourr^"'* 



* 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 238. — Tlie General Court said, they were in a state of 
" anarchy." — Mass. Rcc. — Hub. ./V. E. p. 593. 

j The last General Court holdca under authority of the Icing's Comrais- 
sioBcrs, sat at Saco, May 29, 1665. — 1 Coll. J^Jaine Hist. 80c. p. 126, 



432 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol. 1. 



Four Com- 
misbioaers. 



A D. 1663. settled administration of justice, to be anxiously desired by that 
people, thought it was a religious as well as political duty, they 
owed both to the king and to the Province, to enter immediately 
into a consideration of the interesting subject. ' For while the 
' inhabitants were choosing, as the Court said, to be under our 

* charter, they were deprived of their invaluable privileges, and 
'thrown into the depths of disorder, by Commissioners who were 
' rather destroyers than promoters of his Majesty's interest, and 

* the peoples' good ; — men who have cast malignant aspersions 
' upon our government, and have been the authors of transactions, 
' for which they had in fact no lawful authority.' 

Hence, the General Court appointed four distinguished men, 
Commissioners, to hold a Court in York, on the first Tuesday of 
the ensuing July, according to legal and former usage ; and com- 
manded the people of the Province, in his Majesty's name to 
yield again all due obedience to the laws and government of the 
colony.* Also the colonial Secretary in conformity to a legislative 
order, issued warrants to all the provincial towns, directing them 
to elect Associates, constables, grand and petit jurors, and other 
officers. These precepts were distributed to the constables by 
JVathaniel Masierson, whom the legislature appointed marshal of 
the county. 

The substance of the Commissioners' appointment was as fol- 
lows : — 

' To Major General John Leverett, JMr. Edward Tyng, Capt.. 
' Richard Waldron and Capt. Richard Pike.f 

' You are hereby required to repair to York, in the County ol 

* Yorkshire, and there all or any two of you, whereof General 

* Leverett shall be one, are required to keep a County Court 
' as the law directs. And in case you meet with any, pretending 

* to possess other authority, or piesuming to swerve Irom the due 
' obedience they owe to this jurisdiction under his Majesty's royal 
' charter, to which they have submitted and solemnly pledged 

* allegiance ; — you will bring them to trial before you, and pass 



Tlicir ap" 
poiiilmenl 



♦Hubbard's N. E. p. 595. ' 

\ Lever eft was commander in chief of tiie colony militia; T'y?ig'WAs 
assistant this year for the first time ; Waldron was deputy from Dover 
N. H. a speaker of the Jlousc; and Pike lived in Salisbury, and was after- 
wards an assistant. 



Chap. XVI. J of MAINE. 433 

' sentence upon the guilty, according to the aggravation of their A. D. I6fis. 
' offences. 

' Furthermore, you are authorized to confirm all officers and 
< Commissioners, civil and military, as you shall judge meet and 

* proper, for the security and preservation of order or peace in 
' the Courts of the Shire ; Also, for the better enabling you to 

* accomplish these duties, you are hereby empowered from the 
' date of these presents, to take such measures preparatory for 
' holding a Court, and settling the peace of the county, as you in 

* your discretion shall judge to be expedient ; — And all officers, 
' civil and military, within this jurisdiction and all other inhabit- 

* ants, are hereby directed to assist you as the matter pending 

* shall require ; and you arc to render an account of your pro- 

* ceedings to this Court, at the next session in October. 

* In testimony of all which, this Court hath caused the seal of 
'the Colony to be affixed. May 20, 1668.' 

'RICHARD BELLINGHAM, Governor.'* 

Besides their Commission, they had a letter of instructions, by Thpirin- 
which they were directed to give unto the provincial inhabitants, 
a £;uaranty of the common privileges enjoyed in other places ; 
to prevent or check, as far as possible, all disputes and questions 
about grants of landf made by their local " General Assemblies,' 
during the interruptions of the three preceding years; to leave 
individual rights, or claims to real estate, unaltered and untouch- 
ed ; to suppress disturbances ; and otherwise, to exercise in their 
discretion as much power and authority as they might find neces- 
sary, in the performance of the trust delegated to them. J 

When Governor Nichols heard of these proceedings, he wrote f;„^,prn„r 
a letter from New-York, June 12th, to the Governor and Assis- ^p'^f^'i'^'j^^J*'- 
tants of Massachusetts; in which he inveighed severely against s^c''"^<^"s- 
the course they were pursuing. ' I am, said he, not a little sur- 

* prized to find, that you are preparing to usurp again the govern- 

* ment of Maine ; at a time too, when the rights of ownership, which 
' have been submitted to the king by different claimants, are still 



• 3 Mass. Rec. p. 277.— Hubbard's N. E. p. 596. 

tBy this expression, it would see.Ti that the inhabitants of Maine, during 
the three } ears interruption had » General Assemblies,' which made grants 
of lands. 

t3 Mass. Rec. p. 278. 

Vol. I 42 



434 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1668. « awaiting his royal determination. Nor can it be unknown to 
<you, that according to his letter of April 10, 1666, whatsoever 
'his Commissioners might do or direct, was to be conclusive, till 
' farther commands were received from him. You possess power 
' enough it io true, to compel a submission of your weaker neigh- 
'bors; and you may feel in duty bound to reestablish your 
' courts of law, in answer to the petition of a few unquiet spirits, 

* and under a plausible pretence of restoring order and peace : 
' But I ought not to be silent, in view of measures so directly 
'contrary to the injunctions of his Majesty's letter. Do you 

* presume so much upon his forbearance and clemency, as to 
' suppose he will never stretch forth an arm of power to defend 
' his subjects from usurpation ? — Unable myself to visit you, be- 
' fore I leave these parts, 1 m.ust express to you my fearful ap- 
' prehensions, that " if you compel an alteration of government 
*' in the Province of Maine, by subverting the present establish- 
" ments," you may, and piobably will be the cause of bitter 
' quarrels, and even bloodshed. For it is a dictate of reason, — 

* it is nature's law, for men to defend their rights against all offi- 
Nicbois Slip- ' cious invaders.'* This was one of the last official acts of Gov- 

CGPclpd by 

Lovelace, ernor Nichols. He soon embarked for England, and was suc- 
ceeded by Col. Lovelace, who was five years, Deputy-Governor 
of the New-York and Sagadahock Provinces. f 

The letter of Gov. Nichols had no effect upon the civil au- 

Commis- _ _ _ ' 

sionersar- thorilies of Massachusetts. The Commissioners, (excepting 
York* Mr. Pike,) " accompanied by a military escort" arrived at York, 
July 6. Monday the Gth of July, J intending the next day, to lake the 
Bench. They appointed Peter JVijer, clerk of the Court ;§ 
and finding Nathaniel Masterson the county marshal, imprison- 
ed by the dominant party, they appointed another pro tempore^ 
whose duties however, were soon suspended by the incumbent's 
release. Without much ceremony, or formality, they were pres- 
Mct by the cutly met at their lodgings, by Henry Joscelyn and the other 
Justices appointed by the King's Commissioners, when thiey 
all agreed upon a free conference the next morning. 

' At the hour,' as the Court's Commissioners say in their state- 

* Hutch. Coil. p. 427— S. t Smith's New York. 

\ Clialmers, p. 4S4. 

^ Risliworth, former clcrli, took tides with the Justices. 



Chap, xvi.] of maink. 435 

ment of the particulars, ' we had a discourse with them, in which a.d. 1663. 

* they produced their Commission, a transcript of the late ad- The aitirca- 
'dress from Gov. Nichols, and a packet of papers, and requested Couns. 

' us to make ourselves acquainted with their contents ; declaring 

* that they had a right to preside over the Province, that not 
' more than four or Jive in a town of any character, would be 
^ found in our favor ; — and that they, as justices, should execute 
' the duties enjoined upon them hy their Commission, according 
' to their orders and his Majesty^s special command.^ 

' All your papers and^ powers, said the Commissioners, our 
' General Court have too thoroughly considered, to require any 

* reperusal by us. Those under whom you aspire to act, never 
Mawfull)^ possessed the authority, which they assumed to exercise. 

* His ^lajesty directed Massachusetts either to resign the Pro- 

* vince to 3Ir. Gorges, or assign to him our objections ; and it is 

* well known, we have chosen the latter alternative. The cause 

* is still under his royal consideration ; and when have we been 

* required by our common sovereign, to surrender the adminis- 
' tration of justice to your Commissioners ? — By the returns, we 
' shall presently ascertain what is the public sentiment ; and ac- 

* cording to our ability, we shall discharge the trust committed 
' to us. If we are opposed, we shall advise upon measures, 

* which will not be inelTicient.'* 

The Commissioners tlien repairing to the meeting-house, open- 
ed a Court, by reading publicly their Commission, and ex- 
plaining the purposes of their visit. Next, they ordered the mar- 
shal to make proclamation for returns of votes forwarded for as- 
sociates and jurymen ; when those of five towns were present- 
ed ; and it was said, another town had been interrupted while 
voting, and the meeting of a second, wholly prevented by the 
justices. 

In the midst of the canvass, the latter came to the door-steps, 
with a written paper and exclaimed, ^^ Let all here listen and at- 
tend to his Majesty^ commands .'" — The marshal by the Court's 
order replied, " whoever has a command from his JMajesty, let 
him come forward and show it, and he shall be heard.'''' The 
justices then entered the house, and exhibited the documents 



♦ Randolph and others state that the Commissioners «' entered the Prov- 
ince in a hostile manner with horso and foot." — Hutch. Coll. p. 488. 



436 THE HISTOilY [VoL. I. 

A. u. 1663. shown to the Commissioners, in private conference, and request- 

^f'ufe^"""* 6^j that they might be read in the audience of the assembly, 

Courts. Being told their wishes might be gratified, if they would wait till 

afternoon, they retired ; and the Court finished the examination, 

formed lists of the associates and constables, placed the jurors 

upon their pannels, and adjourned to a future hour. 

It appeared, in the interim, that the justices, at some time pre- 
viously, had summoned an assembly of the deputies from the 
towns ; and that they and the justices had taken possession of the 
meeting-house. A message was dispatched by the Commission- 
ers, requesting an interview. " It will be gr anted,'''' said the jus- 
tices, " at this place ;" and immediately their marshal, Nathaniel 
Phillips,* traversed the streets, proclaiming in all the more public 
places, unto whom it might concern — " Observe ye and obey the 
commands of his Majesty''s justices.''^ Whence, inquired one and 
another, have you this authority .'' Show us your warrant if you 
have any, for these commands and distractions of the public 
'^*^"t °'^..'''^ peace. " We proclaim,^^ they said, " according to the charge 
given us in the king^s name. Our orders are our protection : — 
We shall not show them. But we say to all opposers, beware of 
his Majesty^s power.^^ — These being palpable contempts of the 
Commissioners' authority, they ordered the county marshal to take 
the offenders into custody, and they were consequently put under 
a temporary arrest. 

The Commissioners then proceeded to the meeting-house, 
where they found the seats occupied, and the house full of peo- 
ple. " Give place, ''^ exclaimed the marshal, '• to the Commission- 
ers ;^^ — who, as they approached towards the justices, remarked 
to this effect — ^^You are the authors of an affront we little expect- 
ed, but your course will avail you nothing ; you might have cal- 
led your meeting elsewhere, and at another time. — Depend upon 
this — wz shall not be deterred from executing any part of the del- 
egated trust, to ivhich we are commissioned " — A scene of con- 
fusion instantly ensued, several rose from their seats, and some 
began to speak. The Commissioners commanded silence, and 
ordered the marshal to clear the house. f As the justices were 



* lie was (lieir Major of tlie Regiment, and nn a^cnt of Gorg-cs. 

t Randolph says, the Commissiouers turtie'l out Lis Majesty's justices by 
*'aa aimed force," in opposition to his authority, and declaration of April 
10, 16QS.— Hutch. Coll. p. 526. 



Chap. xvi.J of Maine. 437 

leaving their places, Mr. Joscelyn, one of thein, prudently advis- A. D. lebs 
ed his partisans near him to retire. The assembly pressed to the 
door and departed. The justices, however, being reseated, en- 
tered into a conference with the Connnissioners, then upon the 
bench ; who, when again requested as in the forenoon, consented 
to read the king's mandamus letter, of April 10th, before men- 
tioned,* and likewise the commission of the justices, yet declin- 
ed to peruse Nichol's letter, as it was only a part of a private cor- 
respondence. 

To these papers, the Commissioners replied — ' We are com- 
' missioned to hold a court and settle the peace and order of the 
' Province. What we have begun, God willing, we shall finish. 
' We are fully aware of the irregularities occasioned throughout 
'these eastern towns and plantations, in 1665, by the king's Com- Commis- 

* missioners ; who were so bold as to charge Massachusetts with vT'iT'* ^'^' 
'treachery and rebellion, and to threaten her before the year's 

* end, with the dreadful retributions of our sovereign's sevei-'ity. 

* But throuu;h the divine assistance and his JMajesty's power, she 
' yet possesses authority, by royal charter, to assert her rights of 
'government ; and we fear not to compare her acts of justice and 
' clemency, with the words of those, who can make words only 
' their boast.' 

The Justices retiring, Roger Plaisted, a juror from Kitterv, '^'«""'''" "*' 
enquired of the Commissioners, as he said, at the request of his " e govern- 
townsmen, m what way they resunied the government; and how Maine, 
the people's submission was requii-ed .? — The answer was a rep- 
etition of private statements, that all the civil power claimed and 
exercised was by virtue of the charter ; and that the inhabitants 
would be secured in the enjoyment of the same privileges with 
the freemen of other counties. The memorial of Scarborough, 
requesting an enlargement of immunities was discussed, and re- 
ferred to the Legislature. 

In completing tiic organization and arrangement of affairs in officers 
the comity, as connected with the administration of justice ; 
they gave to the constables present and the jurymen their oaths, 
and approved and proclaimed five Associates elected, viz. Bryan 
Pendleton of Saco ; Francis Raynes of York ; Francis JVeale 

* Sec Nichol's letter, ante. 



438 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1663. of Falmouth ; Ezekiel Knight of Wells, and Rogei' Plaisted 
of Kittery. Few or no parties to law-suits were ready for trial ; 
and therefore this branch of their official trust was soon dis- 
patched.* 
Militia or. "^^^^ military of Yorkshire were formed into six train-bands 
gaiiized. Qj, companies duly officered, and united into a regiment. The 
ofticers were these : — In Saco, Bryan Pendleton, who was major 
July 8.9. of the regiment by brevet, and commanded the soldiery at Black- 
point : — In Kittery, Charles Frost, Captain, Roger Plaisted, 
Lieutenant, and John Gattery, Ensign : — In York, Job Alcock, 
Lieutenant, and Arthur Bragdon, Ensign : — In Wells, John Lit- 
tlefield. Lieutenant, and Francis Littleheld jr., Ensign : — In Scar- 
borough, Andrew Algier, Lieutenant : — In Falmouth, George In- 
gersol. Lieutenant. Town commissioners, as heretofore were 
also appointed. 
I ocal or '^° confirm and strengthen the authority of the County Court 

special com- appointed next to be holden at York, on the 15th of the ensuine; 

otissioncrs. "^ ' _ ° 

September ; the Commissioners designated Messrs Waldron, 
Pike and Pendleton, to set with the Associates, for the trial of 
causes and the dispatch of business. 

A written communication was presented to the Commissioners, 
Myssaci?u- "^^^J ^j j"st before they left the Province, and concluded the al- 
tercation between them and the justices. All that remains to be 
mentioned of the Commissioners' transactions is their report to 
the Legislature, made Oct. 23d. which was followed by a vote 
of public thanks for their services, and by an ample rcmunera- 
tion.f 

This overture and change enkindled resentments, among the 
defeated party, which they were ill disposed to suppress. In 
their complaints and invectives, they were extravagant ; — some 
continued obstinate, and a few left the Province. 

John Joscelyn, after liis second visit to this country in 1663, 



(setis ctJin- 
inissioners. 



* Francis Nealc, Antliony Bracket, Arthur Ang'er, Mr. Foxwell and 
Robert Corbin, were (own coinniissionefs for I'tilinouth ani Scarborough. 
— G. Iiig-LTSoll an.l G(,org-c rdt, were jaruiien Irom Falmouth. 

■j-Sce tlie Coinmissioncis' report in Ilubbunrs J\\ E. p. 596-600. — 1 
Ilulch. Ilisl. p. 2iU-5. — Sullivan, p. 376-382—3 JIciss. liec. p. 29-5-7.— 
INicliolas Shapleigh was major, in IC65— N. Phillips in 1CC6 — who, as Ran- 
dolph sa}s, only wantetl an opportunity to express his duty to his Majesty. 
— Hutch. Cull. p. 500. 



Chap, xvi.] of Maine. 439 

passed a large portion of his time in Scarborough, at the house ad. icG8. 
of his brother Henry. In the ^^ account of his two voyages to ^:°^^^J'" ^ 
JVew-England,^^ he wrote under the influence of strong prejudices 
towards Massachusetts, and has given a very incorrect rehuion of 
the preceding transactions. He states, that the king's Commis- 
sioners were sent over to put Mr. Gorges into possession of his 
Province, and to keep Massachusetts within due bounds. But as 
soon as they returned to England, Joscclyn says she " entered 
" the Province in a hostile nininier with a troop of horse and 
" foot, and turned the judge and his assistants from the bench, im- 
" prisoned the major or commander of the militia,""^' ' and highly 
' threatened the Judge and all such as were faithful to the pro- 
* prietary's interest. 'f The Judge mentioned by him was evi- 
dently Henry Joscclyn, his brother. Tliis man, who was one ofMp»''y Jos- 

. . . . cclvn's re- 

Sir Ferdinando's provincial councillors, had been placed by the movai. 

king's commission as before stated at the head of the bench 
both in Maine and Sagadahock. But after this, he left the Prov- 
ince, probably in disgust, and settled at Pemaquid ; where, for 
several years, he assumed and continued to act, in his official capa- 
city, f 

At the General Court of elections in May 1669, at Boston A n. 1669. 
three deputies appeared from Maine and took their seats; J'^"*- Three depu- 
Charles Frost from Kittery ; Peter Wyer from York ; and Rich- |(|ailie!'" 
ard Colicott from Falmouth and Scarborough. A presiding mag- 
istrate was delegated this spring to Yorkshire as usual ; and for 
the accommodation of suitors, a legislative order was passed, in 
October, appointing the County Court to be holden alternately at 
York and Wells.§ 

The resubiection of the Province to Massachusetts appeared State of the 
this year, to be generally settled. Nichols had returned to t^ng- 
land, and we hear no more of him or his colleagues in the Com- 
mission, among her accusers. Gorges was too necessitous, too 
irresolute, or loo much discouraged by repeated defeats, to make 
any great exertions for the recovery of his inheritance. 1 et it 
was always convenient for him to fill the king's ear witli com- 



* N. Phillips. t Joscolyn's voyages, p. 199. 

\ Smairs depnsUlon takrn Nov 1 1. 1737, Small then being- 7G ycare old. 
Com. Rep. p. 99. 
5 3 Mass. Rec. 321. 



440 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1669. plaints ; and he could find In England foes enough to Massachu- 
setts, who were ever ready to encourage him in the pursuit of a 
right so manifestly just. 

The Eastern planters, being generally of republican and puritan 
sentiments, were contented. Numbers upon the seaboard were 
occupying lands under Indian deeds and possessory titles. The 
passion for fee-simple estates rendered the idea of quit-rents 
odious ; and the dreams of findiiig mines of precious metals, no 
longer inflated the hopes of the settler or the cupidity of the 
speculator. The natives were quiet. During the bloody and 
exterminating war, which had been raging six or seven years be- 
tween the New-England Indians, and the Mohawks, the colo- 
nists had not been much troubled by Indian depredations. The 
decisive battle at last was fought in 16G9; in which the former, 
who had been the besiegers, were worsted, and pursued by their 
fierce enemies with relentless fury.* If we may believe the 
tales of tradition, the Tarratines took part in the war ; and 
were followed to the banks of the Penobscot, by the victorious 
Mohawks, who set fire to their villages, and otherwise did the 
tribe considerable damage. To this, succeeded the small pox 
and other diseases, which carried ofl:' great numbers of the 
natives, especially in Canada, and greatly impaired the fur trade. 
D. 1670. In 1670,f the interior regulations of Yorkshire were perfected. 
Thomas Danforth, an experienced Assistant of ten years, was 
designated to preside in the Court of Associates or County 
Court ; and Elias Stileman, of Great Island, John Cutts and 
Richard Cutts, of Kittery, and three or four others in difierent 
towns, were appointed Commissioners as usual, invested with 
the authority of magistrates to try small causes, solemnize mar- 
riages, administer oaths and take the acknowledgment of deeds. J 
The Legislature, in fact, now solemnly enacted, that the several 
towns and inhabitants, should be secure in the enjoyment of the 
same civil and political privileges, which were granted to them 
when they were first brought under the charter ; and hence this 
system of administration was pursued several years, without any 
considerable alterations. 

* 1 Coll. Mass. Mist. Soc, p. 166-7.— 1 Holmes' A. Arm. p. 403-407. 
t See in Hubbard's JV. E. p. 646, a remarkable account of an excavation, 
A. D. 1670, in Weils, by a mineral vapor, rising over the highest oaks. 
t 3 IMass. Rec. p. 364. — 1 Brit. Dom. in Amcr. p. 214. 



I 



I 



Chap, xvr.] OF MAINE. 441 

As soon as the French were in full possession of Nova Scotia, a. d. ig70. 
and the country vvestwardly of it, including Penobscot, they ^^^^^^ gf- 
boldly claimed jurisdiction over the residue of the Duke's east-'^'"- 
ern patent, even to Kennebeck river. It was observed that the ad- 
ministration of its affairs was still in the hands of Henry Josce- 
lyn and other justices, appointed by the king's Commissioners ; 
that there was existing a great contrariety of feeling between 
them and the inhabitants, towards Massachusetts ; that a close 
alliance was established between England and France ; and that 
Lovelace, the Duke's Governor at New-York, was treating the 
ducal territory at Sagadahock with utter neglect, De Bourg, the 
French Governor, was a bigoted politician, in every way dif- 
ferent from Temple, his excellent predecessor ; and the Duke was 
suspected of undue attachment to the French court, besides be- 
ing himself at heart a catholic. In this aspect of affairs, Massa- 
chusetts and the Duke's colonists might with great reason in- 
quire, whether any event were more probable, than the sale or 
resignation of his entire eastern patent to the French. 

To contravene a measure so much apprehended, the General A. D. I67i. 
Court, in May, 1671, looked anew into the eastern extent of their (,f '^');fs"/a'.*^ 
patent ; and suspecting tlie correctness of the former survey, [e'',"i**^"* ^^' 
came to a determination to have another made. For this pur- 
pose, they appointed Thomas Clark, their agent, who was one of 
the firm of Clark and Lake, — landholders of large tracts be- 
tween Sagadahock and the Sheepscot ; and he employed George 
Mountjoy of Falmouth, to make the observations. This man 
was a skilful and celebrated surveyor of his time, an adherent 
probably to the interests of the Lygonian proprietary, and not 
otherwise a foe to Massachusetts.* 

Though all new subjects require deliberation, no time was to 
be lost in the accomplishment of this critical business, as no 
pains were spared by Massachusetts to render her measures in 
the highest degree popular, among all the eastern inhabitants. 
The most acceptable men were appointed to office ; and in the 
Isles of Shoals, or Appledore, belonging partly to Gorges and 
partly to Mason, Commissioners, appointed at the people's re- 



* Sullivan. 
Vol. I. 43 



442 THE HISTORY • [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1671 quest, were empowered to try all causes of £10: — The next 
year they were annexed to the County of Dover.* 

Extent of Mountjoy completed the survey and made his report to the 

ersi«"a^ci' legislature, A. D. 1672. In his search he found, as he believed, 
the northernmost source of the Merrimack to be about two 
leagues farther north, than had been determined by preceding sur- 
veyors.f To this, add three miles, according to the stipulation 
in the patent, and the parallel of latitude found, would be 43'' 
49' 12." A line from this point, stretched due east would cross 
the Sagadahock, near where Bath now is, and terminate at White 
Head Island in the bay of Penobscot. By this surv'ey, if accept- 
ed and established, there would be brought within the charter an 
extensive seaboard, also Arrowsick, Parker's and Georges' Isl- 
ands,! Monhegan, Metinicus and all the other Islands upon the 
coast, likewise the principal settlement at Pemaquid. Yet should 
the Duke be in this manner bereft of all his more commodious 
water-privileges and a great part of his provincials ; he might in 
a fit of ill-humor resist this encroachment, though he being of the 
cabinet had passively consented, that the French by the treaty of 
Breda should have all his patent eastward of Penobscot; and 
though in fact he held the particular territory lying between Sag- 
adahock and Pemaquid, — below tlie line extending from the head 
of the latter to the former, only by a possessory right, not by char- 
ter right. § It was happy too, for Massachusetts, that the claim rais- 
ed by this new survey, while it was of so doubtful a character, did 
not embrace Dartmouth, the seat of the Duke's goverment. But 
if this and some other incidents were merely plausible in appear- 

Dutch war. anccs. One event of the war, lately declared by England against 
Holland, encouraged Massachusetts In the prosecution of her 
claim. This was the recapture of the fort at New^-York, July 30, 

A. D. 1673. 1673, by a Dutch armament under Binkes, Evertzen and Clove, 
from the West Indies, j] For as soon as the capitulation of that 
colonial government was concluded. Governor Lovelace returned 

* 7 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 243.-3 Mass. Rec. p. 380— 40S. 
t Ante, A. D. 1652— Lat. 43°, 43', 12". 

X Sullivan, p 291— 272— 390.— " The seacoast being well iiiliabileJ and 
" the (ishiiig in a flourishing- state."—! Hutch. Uisl. p. 292. 
\ See ante, A. D. 1664. 
II Hubbard's N. E. p. 611, -Smith's X. Y.— p. 29. 



Chap, xvi.] of matne. 443 

to England ;* leaving only a mere shadow of the Duke's authori- a. d. 1673. 
ty at Sagadahock, and abandoning the planters to the destinies 
of their fortune and fate. 

Encouraged by these eventful circumstances, the General C'mmis- 
Court gave their sanction to Mountjoy's survey; and proceeded, poimcd to 
during their session in October, to erect the easternmost section couTuy."'^ 
of the patent, beyond Sagadahock into a new county. For this 
purpose, the legislature appointed four commissioners, Thomas 
Clark, Humphrey Davy, Richard Callicot, and Thomas Gar- 
diner,! ^^^^° were directed to meet at Pemaquid, Cape Ncwag- 
en, or some other convenient place eastward of Sagadahock 
river, hold a court and organize a county, — in legislative language, 
" according to tlie wholesome laws of this jurisdiction, that so 
" the ways of Godliness may be encouraged, and vice arrested." 

Invested with powers, direct and discretionary, fully adequate 
to the trust, they opened their court, in May, 1674, at Pemaquid, May, 1674. 
which was attended by a considerable number of people. Ac- 
cording to their express desire, the court first erected this section 
of the Massachusetts jurisdiction, from Sagadahock to Georges' 
river inclusive, into a county by the name of " Devonskire,'''' — Devonshire 
in remembrance of one in England, having that name, of which ^'^'a^iished. 
Plymouth was the chief town. Next, they administered the oath 
of allegiance to 84 inhabitants present ; and proceeded to make 
appointments among them, though none were legally freemen, 
according to the colony laws. 

They appointed Thomas Gardiner, county treasurer, Richard officcn. 
Oliver of Monhegan, clerk of the court and recorder, and Thom- 
as Humphrey of Sagadahock, marshal, who as executive officer 
of the county, was directed to take charge of the prison. The 
constables, were Thomas Humphrey of Sagadahock, and Rob- 
ert Gammon of Cape Ncwagen. Mr. Gardiner, Mr. Gammon, 
Capt. Edward Patteshall of Sagadahock, Mr. John Pahner of 
Monhegan, were appointed plantation or local commissioners, and 
empowered to marry parties legally published, to take the ac- 
knowledgment of deeds, to hold " a commissioners' court," for 

* 1 Hutch. Ilipt. p. 292. 

y Clark had been tlie ajent, and was then an assistant. J)at)i/ was six 
years afterwards an assistant. Callicot had been a deputy to the General 
Court from Falinoiilh and Scarboroug-h, in 1669, and .'"or Saco in 1672. Gar- 
diner was a worthy landholder, and lived at Pemaquid. 

i ....w , -..i.d 



444 THE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1674. trying without a jury, small causes of £10, and to fine for crim- 
inal misdemeanors 10s, or award ten stripes, according to law, 
or any special order of the General Court. There were also, in 
the plantations last mentioned, four intelligent men appointed 
clerks of the writs, and eight grand jurymen* designated ; — to 
whom, and to all the civil officers, were administered the quali- 
fying oaths. 

Miiiiia, In organizing the militia, the court formed five trainbands, viz. 

at Sagadahock, Pemaquid, Damariscove, Cape Newagen, and 
Monhegan ; but appointed over them no officers of higher grade 
than sergeants and corporals ; except two companies, the one at 
Sagadahock, which seems to have been put under the command 
of Capt. Patteshall ; and the one at Pemaquid, which was placed 
under Capt. Gardiner, who was likewise " to have the command 
" and regulation of all the military forces and affairs throughout 
"the county." 

Commis- A rcpoi'tf of thcsc regulations and appointments, the legisla- 

port. tive commissioners certified "at Pemaquid, May 27, 1674," 

which being presented to the General Court the same month, 
was confirmed ; they receiving a return of thanks, and suitable 
remuneration for their services. The Legislature then ordered a 

j„i County Court to be holden annually, on the 3d Tuesday of July, 

Term of iiie at somc place in the county, probably at Pemaquid ; appointed 
Humphrey Davy, Thomas Lake, Richard Callicot, Thomas 
Gardiner, and George Mountjoy, special commissioners, to hold 
the ensuing term ; and directed the constables to call together, 
" at convenient times," the inhabitants of their respective towns 
and plantations, and ' read to them the colony laws.'| 

Taxes. -^^ ^^^^ "^"^7 term, the County Court, holden by the special 

commissioners, levied and apportioned a tax of £20, to defray 
" court charges," and to pay for " lav/ books, constables' staves," 
and other public expenses. It was apportioned thus — to Sag- 
adahock £4, 10s; to Monhegan £5, 10s; to Cape Newagen 



* Tlie jurors were Unbert Kdmunds an'I Ambrose. IJanicell of Sagada- 
hock ; John TViford, Eliai Trick, and John Prior, of Damniiscove ; 
George Bickford and Reynold Kelley of Monlieg-nn ; and Johji Cole of 
Pemaquid. 

t 4 Mass. Rec. p. .3-12-13. 

I 4 J\Iats. Rec, p. 16. — This brouglit Henry Joscelyn (like Wheclvrrijlil, 
at another time and place) within the jurisdiction of Maesachusctts. 



Chap, xvi.] of Maine. 445 

£3, 10s ; to Damariscove and Hippocrass* £5 ; and to Pem- A.D. ig74. 
aquidf £2. The local commissioners, and grand jurors of 
each place were required to assess the same, " on tlie persons 
and estates of the inhabitants ;" and the constables directed to 
collect the money, and pay it over to the county treasurer. Fi- 
nally, the court licensed some suitable persons in each of the five 
places just mentioned "to keep a house of public entertainment," 
be provided with necessary lodgings, and retail " wine, beer and 
liquors, for the year ensuing according to law."J 

To mention one probate case as a specimen of legal proceed- 
ing ; — administration was granted by the Court, to George Bar- 
net of Monhegan, upon the estate of John Waller, a seaman, resi- 
dent alternately at that place and Damariscove, who had been 
dead five years. The administrator gave bond in the penal sum 
of £50, with Richard Oliver as surety, obliging him to present an 
inventory at the next term, and to dispose of the property to 
whom " by law and the clearest testimony," it belonged. 

But these transactions, which exhibit somewhat minutely the p^^ce with 
interesting policy and prudentials of early times, were scarcely ''"^ ^'"'^•'•• 
closed, when news arrived of a treaty of peace between England 
and Holland, signed Feb. 9th. By its sixth article, it appeared 
that the province of New- York was fully restored to the English. 
To avoid henceforward the effects of a constructive cession to 
the crown, which some might call the present surrender, the Duke 
of York took from the king a new patent, dated June 22d, 1674, ^"^'''^ "^v 
comprising all the territories embraced in that of 1664.§ Imme- 
diately, James, the Duke, commissioned Sir Edmund Andros, Andros, 
Governor of both provinces, New-York and Sagadahock, who S"^^""""""- 
assumed the reins of government in October. || 

At this period, the country upon the seaboard between Piscat- 
aqua and Penobscot, was in a flourishing state. IF M. Denys in j^j pp^^.^r 
his history published ten years before, says, 'the French have a ""|'' •',■ •'"'/ 
' fort on the east side of the Penobscot bay ; and on the other marks. 



* Originally, ^'^ Hypocrite.'''' f Now Bristol. 

I 4 Mass. Rcc. p. 15-16. ^ Tnimbuirs Conn. p. 326. 

II Smith's N. Y. p. 32.— Clmlmers, p. ,^.31.— 3.0 TJn. Hist. p. S49. 
t I riiitcli. Hist. p. 292. 



440 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1G74. 'hand the English are settled in great numbers, and have' " a 
" large country cleared and under improvement."* 

Joscelyn, remarking upon the eastern plantations, in bis T^oy- 
ages, published this year, observes, that " Black-point contains 
" about 50 dwellinghouses, and a magazine." " The people 
" have a great number of neat cattle and horses, 7 or 800 
" sheep, a corn-mill, much arable land, and large marshes both 
" salt and fresh." Falmouth, a town on Casco bay, he says,. 
" is stored with cattle and sheep, has a corn mill or two, and 
" stages for fishermen." ' Sagadahock further eastward,' he adds, 
' is stored with cattle and corn-lands, and has many scattered 
' houses and stages along shore, or cabins for those employed 
' in the fisheries' : — And the country " from Sagadahock to Nova 
" Scotia is called the Duke of York^s Province. Here Pema- 
" quid, Metinicus, Monhegan, Cape Newagen, where Capt, 
" Smith fished for whales, and Muscongus, are all filled with 
" dwellinghouses and stages for fishermen, and have plenty of 
" cattle, arable lands and marshes."f 

Coypij Massachusetts, highly gratified with these appearances, con- 

tinued a regular and tranquil administration of justice in York- 
shire and Devonshire, holding from year to year, County Courts, 
in one by an Assistant and the Associates, and in the other, more 
remote, by five resident commissioners. J Still the claimants of 
the country, especially the Duke and Gorges, and no less the 
Dordering French, filled her with extreme and perpetual anxiety. 
In the first place, therefore, to put the clamors and complaints of 
Gorges to silence, she instructed her agent in England, to offer 
him £500, for an acquittance of his Province. But the late 
peace had probably enhanced its value, for the agent stated to 
the General Court that " Gorges and others were in the clouds, 
" and expected as much by the year, in interest." 

A. D. 1675. Added to these perplexities, were the calamities of an Indian 

King Phil- war, which broke out in 1G75, between King Philip of Narra- 

ip s war. ' ' a r 

* Mass. Letter Book, p. 101. — 2 Vols, of Denys\— 6 Charlevoix, N. F. 
p. 407-9. 

\Joscehjn''s Voyages., p. 200-5. — His account ends in 1C73. 

J 4 J\Iass. Rec. p. 23-28. — Because Devonshire was remote, the business 
small and the travellm!^ precarious, the General Court ordered that " the 
County Court be holden by such men of vrorlh as mig-ht be commistioned, 
thoi.g^h neither be an Assistant." 



Chap. xvi.J of Maine. 447 

ganset and the United Colonies. This caused an enquiry into a. d. 1675. 
the strength of the country, and the efficient means of defence. ^ 

° . •' ' ^ _ _ F.nsleni gol- 

The official report was favorable ; for by returns of the militia t!u ry. 
in the Yorkshire regiment, and the estimation of the effective 
soldiery in Devonshire, we have these results : — 

Kittery contained 180 soldiers, 

York, 80 

Wells* and Cape Porpoise, 80 

Saco and Winter Harbor, 100 

Black-point and Blue-point, 100 

Casco-bay, or Falmouth, c80 

Sagadahock westward, 80 



■ 700f 
Devonshire, " 150 

Residue of the Duke's patent, 150J 



1,000 
From these data, it may be safely estimated, that the white pop- r^puiation. 
ulation between Piscataqua and Penobscot, must, at this period, 
have been 5 or 6,000 souls. 

The war soon involved Massachusetts in heavy expenses ; for, „ 

•' i ' ' Taxation. 

according to the terms upon which New-Hampshire, and the two 
Eastern Counties submitted to her jurisdiction, neither was obliged 
to bear any part of the public charges, nor pay any other taxes 
than those of their own counties. Nevertheless, in the present 
emergency — in the extremities of a general defence, the delega- 
tion from Yorkshire, influenced by motives of public policy and 
justice, were content to have the inhabitants of their county as- 



* Before 1688, there were in Wells, 100 families. — Oldmixon, p. 61. 

t Chalmers, p. 507. — In 1673, there were in New-Eng-Iand, 120,000 souls ; 
and 16,000 able to bear arms. — The militia of ConnGcticut, 2,070 men. — 
1 Trinnbull, p. 340. — But the preceding^ estimate of population, is quite 
too low, for there were in Massachusetts, New-Hampshire, Maine, and Saja- 
dahock, in 1676, 150,000.-1 Hutch. Hist. p. 404. 

X There were as many as 15G families cast of Sajadahock, in 1675 ; and 
between that r'wcr and St. Georges' river, 'near 100 fishing" vessels 
owned" by the people there. — Sylvanits Davis'' statement to the Mass. As- 
sistants, 1675. — .John Joscclyn says, there were at Black-point, in 1671, " 50 
dwellinghouses," and Mr. Willis calculates there mij'Iit be, in 1675, 4'JO 
inhabitants in Falmouth. 



448 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1G75. sessed with a fair proportion of the expenses, incurred by the 
war. The whole sum was large, and hence, the General Court 
directed the selectmen of the several towns, by warrants from 
the treasurer, to assess immediately, according to law " nine 
country rates ;" and cause the money to be collected and paid 
into the public treasury. It is understood, that the sum total, 
raised in Yorkshire, was £157, IO5.* 

Happy This was the first general tax which the inhabitants of Maine 

union of • J • 1 1 • 1 m 

Maine and evcr paid mto the colonial treasury. To protect them, and their 

Massaciiu- . , » i ■ • i ■»« i i • i 

«etis. interests and lavor their wishes, Massachusetts was now laid 

under a fourfold obligation, namely, allegiance, fidelity, friendship 
and public taxes. Nor was implicit unshaken confidence in an- 
other ever more justly and worthily reposed. Their rights were 
respected ; justice was administered with constancy and effect, in 
both the counties of York and Devonshire, so long as it was prac- 
ticable ; and it must be acknowledged, that Massachusetts was 
always as ready to aid and protect, as to tax and govern. 
A. D. 167S. But this eastern country caused Massachusetts many and great 
Duke of anxieties. Among; her foes were malevolent accusers as well as 

Monmoulh. " 

avaricious complainants. A year or too since, there was a pro- 
ject started to aliene unto the crown, the whole country from the 
Merrimack to the Penobscot ; in prospect of erecting it into a 
royal Province for the Duke of Monmouth. So much was he 
infatuated with the probabilities of deriving from this source an 
annual revenue of £5,000, that the most positive facts to the 
contrary, fully adduced, were hardly sufficient to dissuade him 
from pursuing the deceptive phantom. f 
Claims of Gorges and Mason, in the prosecution of their complaints 
Malirre-"^ against Massachusetts, had at length so far succeeded as to pur- 
suade his Majesty to send copies of the charges to her, and to 
require the appearance of agents in her defence. The bearer 

* i Jl ass. Ilex. ]). -ii. — A sing'le lax in Massachusetts was £l,500, in 
Maine £l7, 10 ; of which each taxable poll paid 12J. — The tax with the 
overlaying's in Massachusetts was apportioned thus : 

Suffolk, 16 towns, paid £ 613, 6*. lid. 

Essex, 17 " » 474,10,11 

Middlesex, 16 " " 465, 8, 6 

Total, £1, 553, 6, -1 
Nine country rates would amuunt to - - £l3, 979, 17, 
In Maine £17, 10, multiplied by 9=:£l57, 10s. total, 
t Hutch. Coll. p. 451— 172. 



vived. 



Chap, xvi.] OF MAINE. 449 

was Edward Randolph, a kinsman of Mason, and a man of ad- a.d. 167G. 
dress, activity and information — noted for his unvarnished preju- 
dices and severe animadversions, on all occasions, where his 
friends and foes were at variance. Another part of the errand 
which he received from the Lords of trade, was, to make enqui- 
ries into the condition of the country, and report to them a 
statement of facts. 

After his arrival, June 10, he passed six weeks in visits and Randolph's 

. . T-» 1 • 1 • • 1 • ''isit and re- 

enquiries at Boston, and m this eastern region ; and returning to pon. 
England, delayed not to make a detailed report to his employers, 
especially to the board of trade. In this he observes, ' if we ex- 
' cept ^Massachusetts, I ' found the colonies including Maine very 
" desirous ol submitting to a general Governor." ' Several of 
' the principal inhabitants, particularly in the latter Province, came 
' to me with bitter complaints, and entreated me to represent 
' their condition to his Majesty ; — ardently expecting relief as 
' promised by the Commissioners, in 1C65. Some said they had 
' greatly suffered and others had been quite ruined, by the In- 
' dians, only because they had in those days expressed their duty 
' to his Majesty. The inhabitants of New-Hampshire, Maine 
' and the Duke's Province, were holding, he said, a friendly cor- 
' respondence with their French neighbors ; while the govern- 
' ment of Massachusetts was entertaining a perfect hatred towards 
' them."* 

In a memorial to his Majesty, sent by their agents, William nicmorial 
Stoughton, Lieutenant Governor, and Peter Bulkley, speaker of cimsetirto 
the House, who embarked for England, Oct. 30, the General "'*' '^'"°" 
Court represented — that the Colony had been involved more than 
a year in all the privations and calamities of an Indian war ; that 
though the Heathen were beaten in the vicinity, and their great 
leader slain, they had sprung up in the eastern country, more ma- 
lignant and desperate in consequence of defeat ; and that the col- 
ony government was unhappily required, at one and the same time, 
to maintain a title to the Provinces, to defend the inhabitants, 
who were constantly praying for succour, and to dispute, with a 
bloody and barbarous enemy, the possession of these dismal de- 
serts. ' We may be highly charged, said the General Court, but 
* we appeal to the great Searcher of hearts, that no wrong to 

* Hutch. Coll. p. 508. 
Vol. I. 44 



450 "^HE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1676. « proprietors is intended, — no profit to ourselves is sought. Quite 
« other motives actuate us : — these are a sacred regard to our 
' charter rights, and a strong sense of justice, duty and corapas- 
' sion towards the inhabitants, so distracted with dissensions — ail 
' which have moved us to receive them to the bosom of favor.'* 
fier instruc- By the instructions given to the agents, the whole chain of 
a°enis! '^"^ events was to be passed in review before his Majesty ; the aban- 
donment of tlie Provinces, in 1634, by Neal, agent to Gorges 
and Mason ; the melancholy condition of the inhabitants in sub- 
sequent years ; their cheerful submission under the Massachusetts' 
charter, in 1652; and their prosperity and quiet, in 1665, when 
the king's commissioners effected changes in the government 
which scarcely outlived their departure ; — and to conclude, said the 
General Court, ' though the country may never be of any great 
* value or advantage to us ; yet' " if a sum of money will deter 
" the claimants from further persecution, and they will resign 
" and release all their interest in these eastern parts, and bring 
" the matter to a final close, you may do as discretion shall dic- 
" tate." 
. , . . A hearins soon after the arrival of the agjents was eranted 

A decision ^ o o 

by the king jq them and their antagonists, before a committee of the privy 

111 council. ... . . . 

council, consisting of the Lords Chief Justices of the King's 
bench and Common Pleas, and the Lords of trade and planta- 
tions. — Having examined all the charters, and other evidences 
adduced, they decided, " that they could give no opinion, as to 
" the right of soil in the provinces of New-Hampshire and Maine,, 
" not having the proper parties before them ; it appearing that 
" not the Massachusetts colony, but probably the ter-tenants, had 
" the right of soil and whole benefit thereof, — yet they were not 
" summoned to defend their titles :"f — and this equivocal de- 
cision or report was confirmed by the crown. 

Though all the claims of Massachusetts to Maine, were ap- 
parently extinguished by this decision, it did not determine who 
was the rightfiil owner of the Province, but left the future dis- 
cussion of that question " to the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 
" both as to soil and government."! It however evidently gave 

* J Mass. Kec. 

1 1 Ilutcli. Hist. p. 286.— 1 Belknap's -\. II. p. 137, 

X Hubbard's iV. E. p. 613. 



Chap, xvi.] OF Maine. 451 

the ter-tenants or possessors, a much broader and stronger hold A. D. 1676. 
of the fee, than his grandson, the present claimant, could have 
anticipated or apprehended. 

To avoid furdier controversy and trouble, Massachusetts fully Purchase of 
resolved to purchase of Gorges, if possible, all his interest in the Aiassachu- 
Province. Accordingly she employed John Usher,* a trader of ^' 
Boston, then in England, to negotiate the bargain, f without 
awaiting the result of any farther discussions about the owner- 
ship ; who, though the king himself was in treaty with Gorges 
to obtain it, soon effected a purchase and took an assignment of 
the Province, J\Iay 6th, 1677, J for which he gave the proprietor May6, iG77i 
£1,250 sterling. The instrument, which was of great length, 
described the parties, expressed the consideration, and gave the 
limits and boundaries, as set forth in the original charter to Sir 
Ferdinando. It in fact transferred the territories with " all roy- 
" alties, jurisdictions, ecclesiastical, civil, admiral and military ; — 
" the privileges, governments and liberties, granted to Sir Ferdi- 
"nando Gorges by charter, the 3d day of April, in the 15th year 
" of Charles I." A. D. 1639. Gorges the grantor covenanted, 
" that the said Usher should stand seized of an absolute, per- 
" feet, and independent estate of and in the said County Pala- 
" tine ;" — ' excepting all leases, grants and conveyances made 
' by the original proprietor or his agents, engaged in planting the 
' Province, especially all grants to WilHam Phillips.'^ 

* Usher was afterwards Lieut. Gov. of New-Hampshire, and one of 
Dudley's Councillors. — EllioCs Bio^. 
t 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 288. 

\ Douglas says it was "July 20, 1677". — 1 Dottg. Sum. p. 387. — Chalmers, 
p. 397. — Others say it was '• March 13, 1G77." But by an authentic copy of 
the Indenture in the Secretary's ofBce in Boston, May 6, 1677, is the date. 
\ Major Phillips lived in Saco. — Sullivan, p. 373. 

Note. — List of Deputies or Representatives to the General Court from 
Maine, while the Province was under tlie colony charter, before the above 
assig-nment took effect. 

Kittery John Wincoln, A. D. 1653, 6 years; or 2 of this name, 

Thomas Withers, 1656, 1 year. 

Humphrey Chadbourn, 1657, 3 years. 

Charles Frost, 1658, 5 years. 

Roger Plaisted, 1663, 3 years. 

Edward Hutchinson, 1670, 2 years. — A non-resident. 

James]Emery, 1676, 1 year. 

Richard Waldron, [of Dover N. H.) 1679, speaker, 1 year. 



452 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 16G7. The preceding memoirs are the traces of facts and events, 
Remarks ^yjijch fill the first half centiuy of settlement and public affairs 
in this interesting country. If our progress has been slow, the 
checks have arisen principally from those political changes, which 
always damp, and often extinguish emulation and enterprise. 
Though the facts and incidents recorded, are comparatively few, 
and may be tliought to occupy pages beyond their merits ; they 
are nevertheless the elements of our history. They give us 
a portrait of the state in the cradle. They show us the seeds 
with which the country was first planted ; the sjirinjis opened by 
the earliest occupants ; the traits of our youthful character ; and 
the rudiments of our political science. What are the exuberant 
gifts of nature under a vertical sun, are essentially with us the 
product of culture, labor and art. Our advancements in improve- 
ment, wealth and happiness, are the revenue of persevering indus- 
try, and salutary regulations. The past fifty years show us tests 
of experiment; — the future will afford us the wisdom of expe- 
rience. 

York EhvarJ Rishworth, 1G53, 13 years, and of Wells 1 year. 

Peter Wyer, 1665, 2 years. 

Samuel Whcelwrig-ht, 1677, 1 year, and for Wells and 
York, 1 year. 
Wells Hugh Gunnison, 1654, 1 year and for York 1 year. 

Francis Littlefield, 1665, 1 year. 

William Siraonds, 1676, 1 year. 
Falmouth & Edvvaird Rishworth, 1659, 1 year. 
Scarboro' Henry Joscclj'n, 1660, 1 year, 

George Cleaves, 1663, 2 years. 

Richard Callicot, 1669, 1 year. 

Francis Neale, 1670, 1 year. 

Arthur Angier, 1671, 2 years. 

Peter Bracket, 1673, 2 years. 
Saco Robert Boothe, 1659, 1 year. 

Richard Hitchcock, 1660, 1 year. 

Richard Callicot, 1672, 1 year. 
N. B. — There were no representatives returned from Maine, A. D. 1666- 
7-8 ; and none after A. D. 1679— in this latter year there were two. 



Chap, xvii.] OF Maine. 453 



CHAPTER XVil. 

The Abon.viiics — Lenni Lnnape — Joinrdh)/ the Molutwh^ — Thv Alle- 
gheny ovrrcome — The Muhaichs affronted with the French — The 
Mohegans — Algonquins — Indian language and inicrcotirsc — Thir- 
ty tribes in Neic-England — Their navies — Four dialects in Netc- 
Fngland — 1st, the Mohcgan ; 2d, the Ahcrginian; 3rf, Aben- 
cquis and Etechemin ; and it h, Michnah — Union of the four 
Neic-IIampshirc tribes — Two celebrated chiefs, Passaconaway 
and Rowlcs — Their premonitory observations and advice. 

This Eastern country, when originally discovered by Europe- A. d. ici5, 
ans, was full of aboriginal inhabitants. The first war they made 
upon the English settlers, was in 1675. Having, therefore, in 
our progress arrived to this era ; it becomes expedient, before we 
nai-rate the particulars of the war, to take a view of the Natives 
themselves.* 

* All historic accounts of the Indian tribes at this age are viewed with in- 
terest. In the present annals and observations, the Author intends to con- 
fine himself, after a concise introduction, almost exclusively to the natives 
of Maine. To prevent repetition, he would mention the following books and 
writers, tliat have been carefully consulted. 1. Rev, William IlnhbariTs 
History of New-England and Indian Wars. 2. J\lr. Daniel Gnokin's ac- 
count of the Indians, A. D. 1674, published in 1st vol. I\lass. Hist. Coll. p. 
70-102. 3. Rtv. John Ileckcwddtr of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, one of the 
committee of the American Philosoplncal Society, at Philadelphia, 1 vol. 
464 Images, Ed. 1819. 4. Rev. Dod. Jonathan Edwards'' " Observations on 
the language of the Mukhekaneew Indians," — pastor of the church, New- 
Haven. He says in his preface, " while I was a boy of six years, I began 
" to learn the Indian dialect, at Stockbridge, where my father removed, 
"and where there were then 150 families of Indians, and only 12 families 
" of whites." He adds, " the Mohegan language became more familiar 
" to me than my mother tongue." — Ed. 1788. 5. " New views of the 
origin of the tribes and natives of America." By Benjamin Smith Barton, 
J^I. D. — having a preface of 109 pages, and a vocabulary of S3 pages 
more. — Philadelphia Ed. 1797. 6. Thomas Jeffreys'' history of the 
French Dominions in North and South America.— AV/. 4lo. London, A. D. 
1761. 7. " A concise description of the English and French Possessions 
" in North America." By J. Palairet, agent of their High-mightinesses, 
the Statei General of the United Provinces.— Et/. London, 1755. 8. Baron 



454 

A D. 1G15 
lo 1675. 

Lenape In- 
dians. 



AlliEfewi 



The Mo- 
hawks. 



Moliegans. 



THE HISTORY [VoL. 1, 

According to Mr. Heckevvelder's account of the Indian tradi- 
tions,* the " henni Lenape,'''' — or original people, as they call 
themselves, migrated, " many hundred years ago," in a body from 
the western parts of the American continent to the Mississippi ; 
where they found the Mengwe, or Maquas, higher up the river, 
who had also come thither from a distant country ; both being in 
quest of better land, than they had left. The former found a fertile 
inviting region eastward of that riv^er, inhabited by a " goodly peo- 
ple," the Alligewi, or Allegheny ; who at once disputed the pro- 
gress of the Lenape, with uncompromising valor. 

After great and bloody, but indecisive battles, the Mengwe 
joined the Lenape upon the stipulated terms of dividing all con- 
quests achieved, equally between them. The war continued to 
rage a great number of years afterwards, till at last, the Alligewi 
being completely overcome, fled down the river and never re- 
turned. 

The Mengwe took the regions contiguous to the great lakes, 
extending from Erie to Champlain, and from the Kittatinny and 
highlands to Ontario and the river St. Lawrence. They origin- 
ally consisted of Jive, latterly six tribes, denominated the " Six 
JVations.^^ — They have been called the Iroquois, from the name 
of the river they inhabited ; and Mohawks, because they were 
the oldest branch of the family or confederacy. The next in 
seigniority and rank, were the Senecas and Onondagos ; the jun- 
iors were the Cayugas and the Oneidas. The sixth and young- 
est tribe was the Tuscaroras. The latter emigrated from the 
borders of North Carolina, subsequent to the commencement of 
English settlements in that quarter. They were supposed to be 
a part of the same original stock, from a striking affinity of lan- 
guage and an immemorial brotherhood. 

The Lenape spread up and down the great rivers Potomac, 
Delaware, Susquehanna, and Hudson. At length, a body passed 
the latter river, which they called the " Mahicannituck ;" from 



La Hontan, " New Voyages," <^c. 9. " History of Indian Wars in JVetc- 
England." — [Anonymous.) Montpelier Ed. 1812. By Wright and Sibley. 
10. Other authors who will be occasionally cited. 11. Appendix to Gth 
vol. Encyclopedia Americana, p. 5S 1-600. 

* Reviewers have pronounced Mr. Hcckewelder too credulous ; but it is 
certain, his writings bear the strongest mar'ks of probability, if they are 
not entirely authentic. 



Chap, xvii.] of Maine. 455 

whence they acquired the general name of Mahicans, and spread a. r)_ 1615, 
themselves in process of time over all the country, now embraced 
by the New-England States. The Lenape have always called 
them, their grandchildren ; and the English have written and pro- 
nounced their name " Mohegans.^^* 

A difference or affinity in dialect, and a mutual intercourse or 
deadly enmity in fact, are the principal criteria by which au- 
thors have undertaken to classify the Indian nations. For in- 
stance — the language of the Mohawks, according to Dr. Ed- 
wards, is peculiar to that people, ' wholly destitute of labials ;' 
whereas the IMohcgan tongue abounds with them. 

It is agreed, that the Algonquinsf were once a very large peo- Aigonquins. 
pie, " including a great number of tribes.' Palairet says, they 
originally "lived 100 leagues above the Trois Revieres," ' till 
• defeated by the Mohawks, and three fourths of them slain ; 
' when the remains took refuge near lake Ontario. Their lan- 
' guage,' he adds, " is highly esteemed in Canada, because all the 
" nations for a thousand leagues around, except tlie Iroquois [or 
" IMohawks] understand it perfectly ;" and Jcffi-eys assures us, 
tiieir " tongue is still preserved north of Lake Huron." 

Charlevoix "says the Algonquiiis and Hurons divided almost all 
" the native language of Canada. Such as are masters of these, 
" can pass over 1,500 leagues of country, and converse with peo- 
" pie of an hundred dialects. The Algonquin is most exten- 
" sive. It commences at Acadia and the St. Lawrence, and 
*' makes a circuit of 1,200 leagues. It is pretended that the 
" natives of New-England and Virginia spoke dialects of the 
" same language."! 

If we may believe the celebrated j\lr. Heckewelder, the Mo- 
hegans, at the time of the arrival of the Europeans, were in pos- 
session of the whole coast, ' from Roanoke to the northernmost 
parts of Nova Scotia; and he appears satisfied, that tlieirs and 
the Algonquin language were the same original ; the only differ- 
ence arising from provincial dialects. It is certain, there has 
been, time immemorial, a friendly intercourse between them. 

* Dr. Edwards says, the word in tlie sing'ular is " Muhhckaneew" plu- 
ral, " Muhhekancok." — 

T La Hontan says, the Eteclicmin dialect difiercd little from that of the 
Algonquin p. 223—290. 

I 5 Charlevoix, N. F. p. 273—291. 



456 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. I), 1615, Nay, the Algonquins and the Eastern tribes have long enjoyed 
particular fellowship. Samuel Champlain mentions a great feast 
in his day, A. D. 1G03, which was prepared by the Algonquins, 
and attended by the Mountaineers and the Etechemins.* It is 
said, too, from good authority, that when the French drew off the 
eastern natives to St. Franfois and Becancour in Canada, they 
were joined by numbers of Algonquins. f 

Moiinwkx-, The Mohawk tribes, always in a confederated state called by 

aiiH ihe ' them their " strong-house," waged war about the close of the 
""'"'■ 16th century, against the Adirondacks, north of the Great Lakes. 
Being worsted however, by means of fire-arms furnished their 
enemies by the French adventurers, upon the St. Lawrence, and 
forced into a treaty, they conceived an hatred and hostility 
towards the French, which nothing could extinguish. J 

But when they afterwards turned their arms against some 
branches of the Lenape nation, — the Delawares upon the river 
of their name, — and the Mohegans eastward of the Hudson ; 
they seem to have gained great advantages over their enemies, 
evidently through the instrumentality and help of the Dutch, who 
persuaded the Lenape of Delaware, some time before 1620, to 
mediate a peace between the Mohawks and Mohegans.§ These 
events, attaching the Mohawks to the Dutch, gave their Eng- 
lish successors an advantage, which was eagerly improved, and re- 
sulted in most important alliances. The proud Mohawks, after- 
wards called the Lenape, squaw-Jighters, from the proverbial 
peace-making character of Indian females. || 

- ,. If the Mohegans were the original inhabitants of New-Eng- 

Indian , 

tribes in N. j^nd and Nova Scotia, they were found by the first English set- 

hiigland. ^ J ./ o 

tiers to be divided into about 30 distinct tribes ilF and the names 



* Pnrchas' Pil. p. 933-6. f 5 Charlevoix's N. F. 

:j: Goolten, 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. IGl. — Barton's view of the Indian 
tribes, p 25-6. § Hnb. N. E. p. 34. 

II I3y treaty of Uiiilcd States with the Six Nations, 1794, they agreed to 
give them $4,500, to be distributed among' the tribes in clothing', ammuni- 
tion, domcstie animals, Ate. according- to their numbers in the United 
States: Thus in the United States, Oneidas 620; Cayugas 40; Onanda- 
gos 450 ; Tuscaroras 400; Senecas 1,780; Stockbridgc or Brothertown 
150— total .3,4 10. Within the British lines 760. Total 4,200. 

H Goo/.'fn. makes 5 principal nations in New-England, — 1. Pequots, — 2. 
Narraj^-ansets, — 3. Pawkiinawkutts, — 4. the Massachusetts, and 5. the 
Pawtiickcls. Tlie latter ■' had under them several smaller Sagamores, 



Chap, xvii.] of Maine. 457 

of twenty-six, and their respective territories or principal places A. p. I6I6, 
of abode bein<i; well known, we will now, for the sake of conven- , ,. 

^ Indian 

ient reference, mention in alphabetical order. 'ri'^-s of n. 

mi /1 7 • England. 

1. The Abenanucs appear to have been a 2;cneric name for 

_ ° Their 

all the natives between Penobscot, exclusive, and " Accomenti- names. 
cus," — possibly Piscataqua, and were divided into four principal 
tribes, presently to be mentioned. 2. The Agaivams* a small 
people about Ipswich in Massachusetts. 3. The Annnsagunii- 
cooks, upon the river Androscoggin. 4. The Canibas,\ a great 
tribe on both sides of the Kennebeck. 5. The Mickmaks, or 
Souriquois of Nova Scotia. J 6. The Mohcgans, a particular 
tribe by this name, inhabiting the present county of Windham 
in Connecticut, and the territory northwardly, nearly to the State 
line. They were a very powerful people, numbering 3,000 
warriors, of whom Uncas was the great chief. Their neighbors 
were the Pequods south ; the Wonguns and Podunks west ; the 
Narragansetts east ; and the Nipmucks north. § 7. The Massa- 
chusetts tribe|| was also originally very large ; spreading over Suf- 
folk, Norfolk, the easterly part of Middlesex and northerly part 
of Essex counties. But it was remarkably thinned by the plague 
or yellow fever of 1617. Nanepashemet was their most noted 
Chief, whose residence was at the mouth of Mystic river. 8. 
The Marechites or Armouchiguois, lived on the river St. John. 9. 
The JYashaways ; and 10. the Nipnets or Nipmucks, were in- 
land tribes, within the county of Worcester, and about the ponds 
of Oxford township. IT The latter were southward of the Nash- 
aways, and subject to the Mohegans. 11. The JVarragansetts 
were probably superior in strength and numbers to any other 
tribe in New-England, except the Pequods, Their dominions 
extended from the seashore through the whole width of Rhode- 
Island, nearly to its northern limits. When the settlements were 
first commenced at Plymouth, this people could muster 5,000 
fighting men, and numbered about 20,000 souls.** 12. The Aa- 
ticks were a new formed tribe, consisting of ' praying' or convert- 



" as the Pennacooks, the Ag'awams, the Naumkceks, Piscataways, .Acco- 
" mcntas and others." — 1 Coll. JiJass. Hist. Soc. p. 102. 

* Hub. N. E. p. 32.t '* Kennebecks"—Go6/an.— Prince, p. 134. 

I J. De Laet. { Ilnb. N. E. p. 33—255—408. || Prince, p. 113. 

If Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 257. — 1 Trumbull's Con. p. 43. 

** Prince, p. 46.— Note, [14] 106 — 1 Trum. Con. p. 70. 
Vol. I 45 



458 THE HISTORY [Vol. i- 

^•J^i,^^^^' ed Indians, collected and settled at Dedham. In 1651 they 

to 1675. _ _ _ ■' 

Indian Combined under a form of civil government, having rulers of 
'^'^^l^^Jjj'^* fifties and rulers of tens; and in 1660 were embodied into a 
church. They were several times, the auxiliaries of the English 
in the eastern wars.* 13. The JWmsi^es dwelt south-eastwardly 
of Plymouth ; — the people from whom Hunt kidnapped seven, 
and thus filled the tribe with enmity towards the English. f 14. 
The JS elianticks\ were on the eastern side of Connecticut river 
at its mouth, where Lyme now is. Their chief was the famous 
Ninegret, who engaged the Wampanoags and even the Mohawks, 
in the conquest of the Long Island Indians. 15. The JYewich- 
awannocks inhabited the upper branches of the river Piscata- 
qua. 16. The Openangos are supposed to have been the in- 
habitants upon the Passamaquoddy-haij. 17. The Pequods,% in 
numbers and power, were at the head of all the tribes in New- 
England. They claimed dominion of the country between the 
Narragansetts and the Nehanticks. Their central resort and vil- 
lages were about the coasts of New-London harbor. But they 
were totally destroyed, A. D. 1638. 18. the PaivJcunawkutts or 
Wampanoags\\ were a great people, occupying all the western 
and southern parts of the Plymouth colony. Mount Hope [Bris- 
tol] was the Sachem's place of residence. Massasoit was the 
first Sagamore of whom the English have any knowledge. He 
had 3,000 bowmen. His successors were his sons Alexander 
and the far famed Philip, the greatest warrior of the age. 19. 
The PentucketsM were the natives of Merrimack river, whose 
principal village was about the falls at Dracut. This tribe, it is 
said, once contained 3,000 souls. 20. The PeJinacooks** also 
dwelt upon the banks of the Merrimack, above Amoskeag falls 
in the vicinity of Concord, New-Hampshire ; containing 3,000 
souls. 21. The Podunksf-f were the native inhabitants of East 
Hartford in Connecticut. 22. The Seconnets^ll. were situated 
at Little Compton, above Pocasset or Tivertown. Their ancient 



* Hubbard's N. E. p. 652—3. f Prince, p. 99—100. 

I 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 277.-9 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 79. 

5 Hubbard's N. E. p 33.— Indian Wars, p. 14— 1 TruinbuH's Con. p. 41— 
47. — The Pequods said that Sassaciis, chief of the Narrag-ansetls, Avas " all 
" one God ; no man could kill him." || Prince, p. 106. 

H 2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 142— IJcik. Is'. H. p. 16. 

** 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. ISO. ft 1 !Morsc's Gcoj;. p. 316. 

tt Prince, p. 129.— Hub. Ind. Wars, p. 258-9. 



C HAP. XVII. J OF MAINE. 459 

chief, who was a female and called a Squaw Sachem, was a kin- A. D. leis, 

„ . . . . «o 1673. 

(Ired of Philip, and always in close alliance with his tribe. 23. 

The Sokokis are supposed to have been the natives, who dwelt 

about the river Saco in Maine. 24. The Tarratines were the 

inhabitants of Penobscot river. They were one of the three 

Efechemin tribes. 25. The Wawenocks lived about the Sheeps- 

cot, Pemaquid and St. George rivers in Maine, between the 

Kennebeck and Penobscot both exclusive. 2G. Lastly, the Won- 

guns had their residence westward of the Pequods, in the present 

towns of East Haddam and Chatham in Connecticut. 

The principal <:/m/ec^? of these tribes are said to be /bur.* Four dia- 

lecls spoken 

That spoken by the Pawkunawkutts and the natives westward ofinN. Eng- 

I • 1 II --iTir? mi '^"'-' ^"*^ 

them, IS supposed to be the on^mal Monegan language. 1 he N . Scoiit. 
clans between the Pawkunawkutts and the Piscataqua, or the 
Agamenticus river, have been called the " Abergineans,^^ or 
JVoj'thern Indians. These could all converse together with 
tolerable ease. But it was noticed, that they were with difficulty 
brought to pronounce the letters L and R, as they for Zobster, le'^'Jj"" **'* 
said nobsten ; whereas those eastward of Piscataqua sounded 
the R easily, and used labials with freedom. f This seems to be 
confirmed by other facts. A copy of Mr. Eliot's Indian Bible, 
printed A. D. 16G4, was obtained by Rev. Daniel Little, mis- 
sionary to die Indians of Penobscot and St. John, since the rev- 
olution, which he carried with him ; but he said, ' not one word 
' of their language could be found in it.' In a vocabulary, how- 
ever, compiled by Mr. Cutter, keeper of a trading-house upon 
the Saco river, ]Mr. Little discovered a great similarity of 
language with that spoken farther eastward. J Still, Mr. Barton 
believes that the language in the Indian Bible, which passed 
through a second edition, in 1685, is not radically different from 
that of the Eastern Tribes. § 

If then, the Sagamore of Agamenticus [or York,] was origin- 
ally tributary to the Pentuckets, or Pennacooks, as Mr. Gookin 
states, II the divisional separation between the Abergineans and 

* Moll's Geog-. p. 236.— La Hontan, p. 230.— Palairet, p. 60.— Jef- 
freys, p. 46-7. — Hecke welder, p. 60, 132. 

1 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 404-7 — 123-9.— Coll. Mass. His. Soc. p. 93.— Oldmix- 
on, p. 151. I Sullivan, p. 265. k Barton, p. 58. 

II Gookin, Superintendant of the Indians, A. D. 1666.— 1 Coll. of Matt. 
Hitt. Soc. p. 177. 



460 ' THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A.D. 1615, the Eastern Indians was not far eastward of that place. It is 

to 1675. . '■ 

, ,. ,. certain the latter were a different people from the former, and 

Indian a:a- i r 5 

''-'f's- also from the Mickmaks of Nova Scotia ; and spake a lan2;ua^e 

widely if not radically diverse from that of their neighbors on 
either side. Capt. Francis, first captain of the Tarratine tribe 
upon the Penobscot, an intelligent and communicative Indian, 
assures the writer* that all the tribes between the Saco and the 
river St. John, both inclusive, are brothers ; that the eldest lived 
on the Saco ; that each tribe is younger as we pass eastward, 
like the sons of the same father, though the one at Passamaquod- 
dy is the youngest of all, proceeding from those upon the river 
St. John and Penobscot. " Always," he affirms, " I could under- 
" stand all these brothers very well when they speak ; but when 
"the Mickmaks or the Algonquins, or Canada Indians talk, I can- 
" not tell all what they say." 
Tribes of N. Between the four tribes of New-Hampshire, however, there 
Hampshire, ^^^g ^ political connexion, — probably a confederacy. In 1629 
—30, the Pentuckets were a people more numerous than the 
PennacooJcs. At Squamscot, [Exeter] there dwelt a chief who 
was at the head of a small Inland tribe, in that vicinity. An- 
other, or fourth tribe, inhabited the banks and branches of the 
Piscataqua, including an Indian lodgment at Cocheco, or Dover. 
These were commonly called the JVewichawannocks, or as Gookin 
says, the " Piscataways ;" of whom Rowles, otherwise named 
Knolles, was many years the Sagamore. All of them were un^ 
der political subordination to the celebrated Passaconaway, chief 
of the Pennacooks, whom they acknowledged to possess a par^ 
amount superiority. f The dwelling-place of Rowles was on the 
northerly side of the river, not far from Quampeagan Falls in 
Berwick. J He was a Sagamore of some celebrity. In 1643, 
he conveyed the lands of his vicinity to Humphrey Chadbourne j 
and others afterwards, to Spencer ; the former being the earliest 
Indian deed found upon our records. It is certain that all the 
Indians upon the river to its mouth, were his subjects ;§ though 
he was under Passaconaway, his superior lord. 

* Others agree with Francis; and fully confirm Avhathe says, 
■ t Hubbard's N. E. p. 32.-2 Coll, ?d. Hist. Snc. p. 142.— Belknap's N. 
H. p. 289. I Then Kittery. 

} 1 Morse's Geog:. p. 310, ed. 1S12.— Sullivan, p, 143. 



Chap, xvii.] of Maine. 461 

The depredations frequently committed by the Tarratines upon a.d^ 1615, 
the people of these tribes, induced the Sagamores to encourage ,„. ^^^ 
English settlements among them, in expectation of their assistance Hampshire, 
against the enemy. It was an expedient, adopted from neces- 
sity ; and the four chieftains are reported, May 17, 1G29, to have 
joined in a quit-claim to John Wheelwright and his associates, of 
all the country between Piscataqua and Merrimack, — below 
Quampeagan and Amoskeag Falls. The only reservations in this 
acquittance, were " the old planting lands, and free liberty of 
" hunting, fishing and fowling."* If, however, the veracity of 
this transaction be, for good reasons, doubted, it is certain, 
the natives lived many years, on terms of friendly intercourse 
with the settlers ; and in the first Indian war, the Sagamores of 
those tribes were resolved to be neutrals. But their conduct was 
evidently controlled by fear, more than by friendship ; and above 
either, by a presentiment that all quarrels with the English, would 
be ruinous to the Indians, 

Passaconaway possessed wit and sagacity, which gave him the Passacona- 
most exalted rank and influence among his countrymen. He Rowiesr 
made them believe he could give nature's freshness to the ashes 
of a burnt leaf, raise a living serpent from the skin of a dead 
one, and transform himself into a flame. Becoming old, he 
made a great feast in 16G0,| to which he invited his tribe, call- 
ing them his children. He spake to them as a dying man, to 
dying men. Hearken, said he, to the last words oj your Jather 
and friend. — The ivhite men are sons of the morning. The 
Great Sjiirit is their Jather. His sun shines bright about them. 
JVever make war ivith them. Sure as you light the fires, the 
breath of heaven will turn the flames upon you, and destroy 
you. Listen to my advice. It is the last I shall be allowed to 
give you : — Remember it and live. 

^Similar presages affected the mind of Rowles. About 1670, 
when bed-rid of age and sickness, he complained of the great 
neglect with which the English treated him. At length he sent 
a message to some of the principal men in Kittery (now Ber- 
wick), to visit him. ' Being loaded with years,' as he told them, 

* 1 Belknap, p. 289-91, where the deed is entire. Mr. Mather thinks 
it genuine : But in 1 Coll. Jf. H. Hist. Soc. it is doubted. 

t Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 67-8, •329.—IJisl. X. E. p. CO.— Some of the 
English were present. — Belknap. 



462 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1615, ' I had expected a visit in my infirmities, especially from those 
' who are now tenants on the lands of my fathers. Though all 
' these plantations are of right my children's ; I am forced in this 
' age of evils, humbly to request a few hundred acres of land to 
' be marked out for them and recorded, as a public act, in the 
' town books ; so that when I am gone, they may not be perish- 
' ing beggars, in the pleasant places of their birth. For I know 
' a great war will shortly break out between the white men and 
' Indians, over the whole country. At first the Indians will kill 
' many and prevail ; but after three years, they will be great suf- 
' ferers and finally be rooted out and utterly destroyed.'* 

Wonnolancet, the son of Passaconaway, and Blind Will, the 
successor of Rowles, regarding the premonitory counsel with sa- 
cred respect, determined to obey it, and perpetuate amity with the 
white people. 



* Supplement to King Philip's War, p. 82. — The facts were attested " by 
Maj, Waldron, Capt. Frost, and Joshua Moody." — lb. 



I 



Chap, xviii.] of Maine. 463 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Natives of Maine — Two people, Abenaques and Etcchemins — Four 
tribes of the former , the SoJcokis, Annasagtinticooks, Canibas and 
Watcenocks — Three Etechemin tribes — The Tarratines — Baron 
Castinc — Villages of the Tarratines — The Openangos or 'Quod- 
dy tribe — Their Village — The Marechites and their Villages — 
The Michnaks and their Country — Population of the Natives — 
A view and estimate of their numbers in Blaine — Supposed census 
of the several tribes. 

The aboriginal people of IMaine belong to two great divisions, A. i). 16I5, 
the Abenaques and the Etechemins. They are all, without ., 

"' Ahenaques 

doubt, the descendants of the same original stock, and for an un- »'\d lueche- 
known period after the discovery of America, the tribes were 
probably members of the same political family ; differing little in 
language, looks, habits or ideas of confederative union. 

The two people have been by Historians, much confounded. Abenaques. 
The French writers, Charlevoix,* Abbe Reynal and la Hontan ; 
also Jeffreys, Douglas and some modern authors, have called all the 
natives eastward of Piscataqua, except the Mickmaks, by the 
general name of Abenaques. Heckewelderf and KendallJ give 
us the reasons. One says, they were called " Wapanachki," 
softened by the French pronunciation to *' Abenakis" — men of 
the east, and the other, '= Wabenakies" east land-men. Hutch- 
inson, to a\oid incorrect distinctions, speaks of the whole as Abena- 
ques or Tarratines ;§ and Belknap and Sullivan, though more 
discriminating, have not been so successful as to attain to precise 
particularity. Others, such as de Laet, Palairet, Oldmixon and 
Herman Moll, have given us the names of different tribes, in 



* Charlevoix, however, mentions Etechemins; and Malecites further 
eastward. — 5 vol. p, 273 — 291. f Heckewclder, p. 109. 

1 1 KendaWs Travels, p. CI. — His c(ymolog-y is " Wabaino, or Wabcmo," 
light, or llie casf, and >' as/cfV lajid or earth. 

\\ IJulch. Hist. p. 4>l — "Tarrateens," " Tarrentincs," — Hutchinson, 
J^Iorse, Belknap; Tarrentincs, Corses; but, Tarratines, Hubbard and 
Prince. 



464 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1615, nowise attempting to arrange or classify them, under any general 

heads whatever. 
TheAbena- All the older authors, Smith, Purchas, Winthrop, Prince and 
Hubbard agree, that the general name of the natives upon the 
Penobscot was " Tarratines ;" and that they lived on terms of 
friendly intercourse with the Abenaques tribes until about A. 
D. 1615 — 16, when the great Avar broke out between them. 
Prior to this, the Tarratines had entertained a deep-roofed imme- 
morial ' enmity towards the Abergineans, especially those in Mas- 
sachusetts and New-Hampshire, — a fact abundantly attested by re- 
peated instances of attack and devastation committed upon them. 
The war itself arose from some treachery, into which the Aber- 
ginean Sagamores had the address to draw the eastern natives, 
towards the Tarratines ; and like most civil wars, it was bloody 
and exterminating. 

From these circumstances, and from Charlevoix, who says 
" the Abenaques live in a country from Pentagoet to New-Eng- 
land,"* a conclusive inference follows, that the Abenaques, were 
the people who originally inhabited the country between Mount 
Agamenticus and St. Georges river, both inclusive. This is con- 
firmed by what we know of their general government, or com- 
mon sovereign. 

The names of eleven tribes,f or their places of principal resi- 
dence in this region, are given us by Smith ; whose allies, he 
says, are the people of " Ancocisco," " Accomynticus," and 
" Piscataquack," otherwise called Casco, Agamenticus and Pis- 
cataqua ; and whose " language, fashion and government," he 
adds, so far as I could perceive, did not essentially differ ; they 
holding " the Bashnba to be the chief and greatest among them, 
" though the most of them had sachems of their own. "J 

The Bashaba and his greatness are frequently mentioned by 
the early voyagers to this country and by early writers : — a prince 
who always expected the civilities or customary etiquette of a 
visit from all strangers who came into his dominions. Gorges, in 
his History, says, " he seemed to be of some eminence above 

* 1 Charlevoix, p. 433. 

I These names, are " Segotago, or Sawocotnck [Saco] ; Pag'hhunta- 
" Duck, Pecopassum, Taughtanakagnet, Warbegganus, Nassaque, Mashe- 
" rosqueck, Wawrigeweck, [iN'orridgewock], Moshoquen, Wakcogo and 
" Pasharanack. \ Smith, p. 18, 20, 218, 214. 



Chap, xvm.] OF iMAlNE. 465 

" the rest, in all that part of the continent :" — " The Massachu- A. D. 1615, 

. ... 10 1675. 

" sens were sometimes his friends and sometimes his enemies." 
His chief abode was not far from Pemaquid. His dominions, 
which were large, Gorges adds, were called by the general name 
of Moasham* or according to Belknap, Mavooshen ;•]• " and he 
" had under him many great Sagamores, some of whom had 
" a thousand or fifteen hundred bowmen." After his overthrow 
and death, he was never succeeded by another of equal rank or 
authority. J 

The tribes of the Abenaques^ were four, 1. the Sokokis, or The four 
Sockhigones ; 2. ihe Anasngunticooks ; 3. the Canibas, or Ken- Ant:^ a- 
abes ; and 4. the Waioenochs. ^^^s- 

1. The Sokokis or Soclhlgoncs were settled upon the river Sokokis. 
Saco, according to Smith's description of the people upon the Sa- 
wocotuck — ' a river east of Accomenticus.' La Hontan supposes 
Acadia extended southward of this river ; and says, " the Sokokis 
were one of the tribes of" that country. JefTreys seems to men- 
tion their name in this connexion. Apistama, supposed to be 
the seaboard from Casco-bay eastward. Gorges says, lays be- 
tween " the Sockhigones' country" and ' the Bashaba's abode or 
dominions.' The tribe must have inhabited the banks of Saco 
river, for there is none other of that name upon the Atlantic 
coast. 

They were originally a large people, till the first Indian war ; 
and the immediate residence ef their Sagamores was upon Indian 
Island, just above the Lower Falls. Two of them, Flucllen and 
Captain Sunday conveyed lands ; but when their successor, 
Squando, died, the glory seemed to depart from the tribe, which 
gradually wasted away. 



* Gorges, p. 17, 54. 

t 1 Bclk. Biog. p. 149, 351.—" Maivooshcn."— Pwrc/ias, p. 939. 

I Capt. Francis says, he has heard of the Bashaba, " he was a great 
governor." 

5 Or "Abnakkis;" — Abcnaqiiis — Dovglass; Abenakis,— CAar/efofr, La 
Honlan-, Hutchinson ; but, Abenaques. — Ahhe Reynal, Jeffreys, Belknap, 
Sullivan and Kendall. 

Note. — Charlevoix, [1 vol. N. F. 417,] speaks of the Sokokis and a 
murder committed by them, to prevent a peace with the Iroquois ; and adds 
[vol. 5, p. 178,] the savages of St. Francois are of the Abenaques, among 
whom are some Algonquins, Sokokis, and Monhegans. It is well known 
that the tribe on the Saco withdrew early to St. Francois. 
Vol. I. 46 



466 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D, 1615, There were two branches of the tribe and two principal lodg- 
ments, one was within the great bend of the river at Pegwacket 
or Fryeburgh ; and the other 15 or 20 miles below, upon the 
banks of the Great Ossipee. Here, before Philip's war, they 
employed English carpenters and built a strong fort of timber, 
fourteen feet in height, with flankers, intending it as a fortification 
against the Mohawks.* 
The Anasa- 2. The AncisagunticooTcs,^ originally a numerous and power- 
gunicoo s. ^^j ^j,j[jg^ claimed dominion of the waters and territories of the 
river Androscoggin, from its sources to Merry-meeting bay, and on 
the west side of Sagadahock to the sea. At Pejepscot, or Bruns- 
wick Falls, they had their usual encampments, or place of re- 
sort. J This was one of the great passes between the eastern 
and western tribes, where the savages met in council to plan 
expeditions against the English. § The Anasagunticooks were a 
warlike people. A short distance above the Great Falls, they 
had a fort, which was destroyed by the English, in 1 690. No 
tribe was less interrupted in their privileges ot fishing and fowl- 
ing ; and yet none were more uniformly and bitterly hostile 
towards the colonists. As soon as the first sound of Phihp's war 
was heard, they fell upon the plantation of Mr. Purchas, the 
original settler, killed his cattle and carried away most of his ef- 
fects. Tarumkin, Warumbee and Hagkins, their Sagamores, were 
brave men ; but the tribe wasted away during the wars, and in 
1747, they were unable to muster more than IGO warriors fit to 
march. II They were the earliest whom the French drew off to 
St. Francois in Canada. 

3. The Canibas were the Aborigines of Kennebeck river, 
where Hubbard says " were great numbers of them, when the 



* See, la Hontan ; Gorges, p. 58. — Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 389. — 1 
Douglass' Summ. p. 185. — Jeflre^ys, p. 117. 

I Or Arcsaguntacooks, Hutchinson; Arousegiinticooks, Douglass. — 6 
CoU. Jlass. Hist. Soc. p. 117 ; Amerascogg-an, Hubbard ; Aumoughcowg-en, 
Smith ; Amarascogen, JIather. In 3 Kendall, p. 143, he says, the etymon 
of Amariscoggan, means — " banks of a river abounding in dried meat," 



i, e. venison 



I Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 281—347. 
^Sullivan, p. 178—181. 

II 1 Douglass, p. 185. — \Varumbee, and 5 other Sagamores, July 7, 1684, 
sold the lands between Sagadahock and Maquoit to the sea, and the Islands, 
Kennebeck rlai^ns, p. 7. 



Chap, xviii.] of Maine. 467 

river was first discovered."* The tribe appeared to consist of A. D. 1615, 
two or three branches, or pohtical famihes. For although ^^on- ^j^^ ^.^^.^ 
quine, Kennebis, and Abbagadussett, between A. D. 1648 and ''**• 
1665, in the capacity of chief Sagamores, conveyed to the Eng- 
hsh all the lands, ten miles in width on each side of the river, from 
Swan Island to Wessarunsett river ; yet Elderumken, another 
Sagamore, made conveyances on Stevens' and Muddy rivers in 
1670;f and Essemenosque certified in 1653, that the region of 
Teconnet belonged to him and the wife of Watchogo. The 
principal residence of Kennebis, the paramount lord, and his pre- 
decessors of the same titular name, was upon Swan Island, in a 
delightful situation ; and that of Abbagadussett between a river of 
his name and the Kennebeck, upon the northern borders of 
Merry-meeting bay. The territories, which the tribe claimed, 
extended from the sources of the Kennebeck to this bay, and the 
Islands on the eastern side of the Sagadahock, probably to the 
sea. 

Jeffreys, Charlevoix, la Hontan and others, call this the 
Canibas tribe ; for which, however, the name " Norridgewocks" 
is substituted by Doct. IMather,J Douglass,^ and the modern En- 
glish writers — manifestly from the name of their famous village. 
This was the residence of the French missionaries, who early 
taught the tribe the principles of the catholic religion, and forms 
of worship. Old Norridgewock|| was a most pleasant site, oppo- 
site the mouth of Sandy river — the general and almost sole re- 
sorting place of the tribe, immediately after their numbers or 
ranks were thinned ; and a spot consecrated to them by every 
sacred and endearing recollection. IT 

In temper and conduct, the tribe during the earlier periods of 
their intercourse with the English, manifested a spirit of more 
friendship and forbearance towards them, than either the Anasa- 

* Hubbard's N. E. p. 31 . + Sullivan. 

J Mather's Majnal. p. 6G~See Smith, p. 214. 

5 1 Douglass' Summary, p. 172. 

II « Norrid je" [falls'] and " wock" [Smooth-water,] i. e. little falls and 
intervals of smooth water above and below. — Capt. Francis. Essemenosque 
lived in the vicinity of Teconnet.— iiT. Claims. --Charlevoix, {\ Tome. p. 435,) 
says those of the Abenaques, " who inhabit the environs of Kennebeck' 
arc called Canibas. 

^ The first missionary to the Canibas, was Gabriel Dreuillettes. — 1 
Charlevoix, p. 435. 



wenocks. 



468 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1615, gunticooks, or Sokokis. Nor did the Canibas decrease as rap- 
idly as the others ; — the neighborhood of white men so destruc- 
tive of savage Ufe, not having till within a recent period, effected 
their utter extinction.* 

The Wa- 4. The Wciwenocks]- inhabited the country eastward of Saga- 
dahock, to the river St. George inclusive. They were the im- 
mediate subjects of the great Bashaba. For the colonists, at the 
mouth of the former river, A. D. 1608, and Capt. Smith J 
while in the harbors of the latter, agree in their statements, that 
they were urged by the natives to pay court unto that prince. 
Moxus, Wegunganet, Wivourna, and succeeding Sagamores, have 
sold lands to the English at Woolwich, Damariscotta and odier 
places in that quarter, and acted as sovereign claimants of the 
country. 

Though the dwelling-place of the Bashaba was near Pema- 
quid, yet subsequent to his death,§ the principal resting place or 
head quarters of the tribe have been on the westerly side of the 
river Sheepscot, near the lower falls. From this circumstance, 
Mr. Hubbard [| speaks of them as the natives of that river ; and 
Douglass calls them the " Sheepscot Indians." 

Broken and wasted by the disasters of the great war, in which 
the Bashaba was slain, they were never afterwards either powerful 
or numerous. In 1747 there were only two or three families re- 
maining ;ir and within a few subsequent years, all of them were 

*Scc " Stalemr.nl of the Ke.nneherl: Claims'''' — Report of Comyniitrc, June 
15, 17S5. — They g'lve a liistory of tliese old Indian deeds, and add:—" From 
" tlie history and modes of living- amongst the Indians in tliis country, 
*' there can be no great doubt, but that tiiey originally held as tenants in 
" common in a state of nature; and though they have formed themselves 
"into tribes and clans, yet the members of those tribes still retain a com- 
" mon and undivided rig-lit to tiic lands of their respective tribes. But 
" from the respect they have constantly had for their sachems and chiefs; 
" and from long usage and custom among- them, the sachem or chief, has 
" acquired a riglit, founded in tacit consent, a kind of Iciral autliority and 
" poivcr, to dispose of the lands of his trib3, or subjacls ; and especially 
=' with the consent of some of his principal subjects, or his counsellors." — '■ 
Pamphlet Report, p. 21. 

■f Called "Waweiieck.'" — Doct. C'j.'aintn. — 3 Coll. J/. Hist. Sac. p. 117- 
18.— 2 Mass. Covncil Rcc. p. 13.—" Wcweenocks."— 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 
401, who cites Charlevoix. — " VVkwenocks," in treaty A. D. 1746.— 9 Coll, 
J\L Hist. Soc. p. 222-3. t Smith's Hist. p. 18-20. 

5 The great epidemic, or phg-uc, was in 1G17. — 1 TIaz. Coll. p. 14S. 

II [Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 301. Hi Doug. p. 184. 



Chap, xviii.] of mai.ne. 469 

induced by the French, to leave theu' native counlrv, and loin the A. D. 16)6, 

•' ^ . -^ . lo 1675. 

settlement commenced at St. Francois and Becancourt in Can- 
ada.* 

They were a brave, active, personable people, — faithful in amity ; 
and when uninfluenced, they disinclined to make war upon the 
English. They defended their prince and country with much 
valor, till overcome; and Capt. Francis says, the name of " Wan- 
neocks" or Wawcnocks signifies very brave — '•'■fearing nothing.'^ 
According to Cajit. Smith, ' they were active, strong, healthful and 
'very witty. The men had a perfect constitution of body, — 
' were of comely proportion, and quite athletic. They would 
* row their canoes faster,' he says, 'with five paddles, than his own 
' men could their boats with eight oars. They had no beards, — 
' and thought ours counterfeits. Their women, though of lower 
^ stature, were fleshy and well-favored — all habited in skins like the 
' men.'f The tribe always joined with the Canibas, being an ally, 
unchanging in war and peace ; and in this character they appear, 
till their last treaty with the English. 

The other division of the aboriginal people in Maine, were the Ktkchi:- 
Etechemixs. They inhabited the country between the rivers ^""''^' 
Penobscot and St. John, both inclusive. 

Mention is made of these nativ^es and their country, by several 
writers. Hermon Moll places upon his map of the English Em- 
pire in America,! the Etechemins, along the banks and about the 
heads of the rivers Penobscot and St. John — eastwardly to the 
gulf of St. Lawrence, and southwardly to the bay of Fundy ; 
and so he describes their country in his Geography. The char- 
ter of Nova Scotia to Sir William Alexander, 1G20, mentions the 
bay of Fundy as dividing " the Etecheminson the north, from the 
" Souriquois, or iMickmaks, on the south." John de Laet§ 
thought the Penobscot to be the celebrated Norumbegua, or Ag- 
guncia ; and informs us that the Indians who dwelt upon the river 
were ' a nation of the Etechcmins ;' and Purchas says, Samuel 
Champlain was present at a great feast, before mentioned, and 
among the attendants were the Etechemins. The French king, 
in 1 G3S, commanded M. d'Aulney to confine his command to the 



* Charlevoix, [."J vol. p. 429-30] says the savag'cs were invited to Becan- 
court in 1704 ; and have continued there since. f Smith, p. 19, 214. 
\ Moll's Geog'. p. 236. \ Novus Orbis, p. 52, 55. 



470 'I'HE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D 1615, coast of the Etechemins,* probably supposing it to be limited by the 
bay of Fundy and river St. John. L'Escarbot calls the people of 
St. Croix, Etechemins ; apprehending they were not limited west- 
erly by the Penobscot. And Charlevoix says, ' the Abenaques, 
'or Canibas, have for their nearest neighbors, the Etechemins, or 
' Marechites, about Pentagoet [or Penobscot] and its environs ; 
' and more at the east are the Mickmaks, or Souriquois, the 
' proper inhabitants of Acadia. f 

Three tribes There are three tribes of the Etechemins, — 1. the Tarra- 

Etecheinins ^^'^^^ ' — ^* ^^^® Openangos, OX ^ Quoddy Indians ; — and 3. the 
Marechites, or Armouchiquois. 

Tarraiines. ^ * — ^he Tarratincs are particularly mentioned by Smith, Hub- 
bard, Prince, Gorges and all the modern Historians of this coun- 
try ; and it is well established, that they were the native inhab- 
itants of Penobscot,! claiming dominion over the contiguous ter- 
ritories, from its sources to the sea. Smith, however, has repre- 
sented the Penobscot mountains (in Camden) as a natural fortress, 
which separated them from their western borderers, or neighbors. 
They were a numerous, powerful and warlike people, more 
hardy and brave than their western enemies,§ whom they often 
plundered and killed ; and according to Hubbard and Prince, 
kept the Sagamores, between the Piscataqua and the Mystic, in 
perpetual fear. After the conquests and glory achieved in their 
battles with the Bashaba and his allies ; they were not, like their 
enemies, wasted by disease and famine. They retained their 
valor, animated by success and strengthened by an early use and 
supply of firearms, with which they were furnished by the 
French. II Less disturbed than the western tribes in the enjoy- 
ment of their possessions, and also more discreet ; they were 
always reluctant to plunge into hostilities against the English. IT 

The Tarratincs ever manifested the greatest satisfaction in 
their intercourse with the French."^* No fortifications upon the 



* 1 Hutch. Plist. p. 112.— 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 119. 
t 5 Charlevoix, p. 290-1. 

I Pvrchas, p. 989, says, " the Tarratine country is 44° 40'." 
{ Gorges, p. 53. 

II The Tarratines, for instance, cut out a shallop from Dorchester, with 
five men in it, whom they killed. — Brit. Domin. p. 94. — Prince, p. 46, 112. 

H In the first Indian war, provision was made for their relief. — 4 Mass. 
Rec. p. 50, 66. 
*■" The " French live with them as one nation or family.' — Smith, p, 20. 



Chap, xviii.] of imaine. 471 

peninsula of Majorbiguyduce, or buildings in the vincinity, ex- a. D_^ 1615, 
cited either fear or jealousy in them ; for no rising plantations of 
the French threatened them with a loss of their lands or privi- 
leges. A barter of their furs for gtms, ammunition and trinkets, 
was managed with a freedom and adroitness which won and secur- 
ed their attachment. Indeed, no foreigners could vie with French- 
men ; for their religious creeds and rites, to which the natives vrere 
superstitiously devoted, their companionable manners, and vola- 
tile turn, all made the bonds strong and lasting. 

About the time the treaty of Breda was ratified, A. D. 1667, Haronde 

■nr 1^- 1 ir< r^ • i m CaslillC. 

Mons. V mcent de bt. Castine appeared among the Tarratmes 
and settled upon the peninsula, since called by his name. Born 
at Oleron, a province of France, he acquired an early taste for 
rural scenes, so fully enjoyed by him in the borders of the Pyre- 
nean mountains, which encompassed the place of his nativity. 
Besides the advantages of illustrious connexions and noble ex- 
traction, being by birth and title a baron ; he was endued with 
good abilities and favored with a competent education and a con- 
siderable knowledge of military arts, for which he had a partiali- 
ty. All these obtained for him the appointment of Colonel in 
the king's body-guards, from which oflice he was transferred to 
the command of a regiment called the " Carignan Salieres." 
Afterwards, through the influence of M. de Courcelles, Governor- 
General of New-France, the Baron and his troops were, about 
1665, removed to Quebec. At the close of the war, the regiment 
was disbanded, and himself discharged from the king's service. 
Taking umbrage probably at the treatment he received, and ac- 
tuated by motives, never fully divulged, " he, as la Hontan says, 
"threw himself upon the savages." To French writers, his 
conduct was a mystery ; and to the colonists a prodigy. 

His settled abode was upon the peninsula where d'Aulney had 
resided, and where he found means to construct a commodious 
house for trade and habilancy. He was a liberal catholic, though 
devout and punctilious in his religious observances ; having usu- 
ally in his train, several Jesuit missionaries devoted to the "holy 
"cause." He learned to speak with ease the Indian dialect; 
and supplying himself with firearms, ammunition, blankets, steel 
traps, baubles and a thousand other things desired by the natives, 
he made them presents, and opened a valuable trade with them in 



472 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1G15, these articles, for which he received furs and pehry in return, at 
his own prices. He taught the men the use ot the gun, and 
some arts of war ; and being a man of fascinating address and 
manners, he attained a complete ascendancy over the whole 
tribe ; they looking upon him, in the language of one writer, " as 
" their tutelar god." 

To chain their attachments by ties not readily broken, in con- 
nexion with personal gratification, he took four or five Tarratine 
wives, — one of them the daughter of Madockawando,* Saga- 
more of the tribe. He lived with them all by changes, at the 
same time, and had " several daughters and one son, Castine the 
"younger," who was a man of distinction and of excellent 
character. 

Early habits and great success in trade rendered the father 
contented with his allotments ; he lived in the country about 
thirty years ; and, as Abbe Reynal says, " conformed himself in 
all respects to the manners and customs of the natives." To 
his daughters, whom " he married very handsomely to French- 
"men," h^ gave liberal portions; having amassed a property 
" worth three hundred thousand crowns. "j- 

The Governors of New-England and of Canada, apprized of 
his influence, wealth and military knowledge, were, for obvious 
reasons, the courtiers of his friendship and favor. 
The Tarra- The Tarratines have probably, at different periods, shifted the 
ges! situation of their principal village. At the mouth of the Ken- 

duskeag, they had a common resting place, when the white peo- 
ple first settled in the vicinity — a place to which they were, from 
habit, strongly attached. Here the mouldering relics of human 
bodies, also flint spears, stone implements of labor, and Indian 
paint dust have been accidentally disinterred, after a burial for 
an unknown .period of time. 

A league above the mouth of Kenduskeag stream, and near 
the westerly bank of the Penobscot, are the undoubted appear- 
ances of an old village, perhaps the ancient "JVg^as:" The 

* Madocka-ivando died in October, 1698 JJar. Mag. p. 535. 

f See authorities for article Castine, or " Castecn," Abbe Reynal — 6 
Tome, p. 326. — La Honlan, p. 223. — He says Castine " never chang-od iiis 
" wife," to convince the savages " that God doth not like inconstant 
" folks."— 9 Coll. Jfass. Hist. Soc. p. 213.— Hutch. Coll. p. 562.— 1 Holmes:' 
A. Ann. p. 396. 



Chap, xviii.] of Maine. 473 

English call it " Fort Hill.'^ Here are the cavhies of several a. d igi5, 
cellars, and the remains of two or three broken stone chimnies. t. 
The site is a flat of elevated ground, with a gradual slope to the ^'"^Re. 
water, formed by nature, an eligible })lace for a fortification. 
When it was destroyed, or abandoned, no account, either histor- 
ical or traditional, gives us entire satisfaction.* According to 
some reports, it was burned by the Mohawks : but with much 
more reason, it is supposed to have been laid in ruins by a party 
of New-England soldiery, about a century past.f It was cer- 
tainly inhabited, since Europeans have visited the river; for in 
the tillage of the land, the plough has turned out such things as 
the utensils of cookery, bullet moulds, pincers, and other articles 
of hardware, which must have been the workmanship of modern 
artisans. The plains in the vicinity, according to the statements 
of the oldest settlers, originally exhibited all the appearances of 
having been, at some unknown time, the cornfields of the natives. 

In later years, Indian Old-town'^ has been their village and 
altogether the place of their greatest resort. Its situation is upon 
the southerly end of an island in Penobscot river, twelve miles 
above the mouth of the Kenduskeag, being partially cleared and 
containing about 350 acres of very rich and mellow land. At 
the close of the American revolution, the village contained be- 
tween 40 and 50 wigwams, about equally divided by a street 
five rods in width, which passed east and west across the Island ; 
quite compact on each side, and constructed after the old Gothic 
fashion with the gable ends towards the street. These slender 
cabins, which have been gradually decreasing in number, are 
usually built and occupied by a family, including all the descend- 
ants of a father living, unless some of them choose to construct 
others for themselves. 

Through a short avenue southerly from the main street, is their 
church or chapel, 40 feet by 30 in dimensions, and one story in 

* See post, A. D. 1692, chap, xxiii.— Also see post, A. D. 1723; and 8 
Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 1 " New Series," p. 264. 

t See post, 2 vol. chap. ii. A. D. 1723. 

X In September, ISl 6, according to an account taken, there were about 25 
wigwams ; again in May, 1823, it was found, there were only 15 or 16, 
standing; the chapel dilapidated, the porch and bell down, since rebuilt ;~ 
Perhaps Old-town is the ancient « LtH.^—Penhallow's Indian Wart, A. D. 
1710. « the Island of Lett." 

Vol. I. 47 



474 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1615, height, with a porch, a cupola, and a bell. It is covered with 
'larrati clapboards and glazed. Fronting the door within, are the desk 
village. and altar, two large candlesticks, and some other articles of ser- 
vice, after the catholic forms ; upon the wall behind, are the im- 
ages of our Blessed Saviour and some of the primitive saints ; and 
on the right and left of the desk, are seats for the elders ; other- 
wise, the worshipers male and female, who uniformly convene 
on the sabbath, and frequently for prayers on other days when 
a priest is with them, both sit and kneel upon the floor, which is 
always covered with evergreens. But the present edifice, which 
has been built since the revolution, is said to be far from com- 
paring with their former one, either in size or appearance. 

Northerly of the chapel, 20 rods, is their burying place, in 
which stands a cross, 15 or 18 feet in height. In its standard 
post, six feet from the ground, is carved an aperture, 5 inches 
by 3 in compass and 4 deep, securely covered with glass, enclos- 
ing an emblematical form of the Virgin Mary with the inlant Im- 
manuel in her arms. At the head of each grave is placed a cru- 
cifix of wood, which is about two or three feet high, and very 
slender ; — a memorial borrowed from the catholics. 

The Tarratines were neutrals in the war of the revolution ; 
— in return, Massachusetts protected them, and prohibited all 
trespasses upon their lands, six miles in width on each side of the 
Penobscot, from the head of the tide upwards,* She has since 
at different times, made large purchases of their lands — until 
they are left the owners only of four townships — a few acres on 
the east side of the Penobscot opposite to the mouth of the Ken- 
duskeag, and the Islands between Old-town and Passadumkeag, 
28 in number, containing 2,670 acres. f 
Openansos 2. — Another large tribe of the Etechemins were settled about 
tribe. "° "^ the waters of the Passamaquoddy-bay and the river Schoodic. 
They have, perhaps, been called the " Oj)cnangos,t — though 
without much authority; — more commonly the ^^uoddy tribe. 
According to the remarks of Champlain, I'Escarbot, and Charle- 

* 5 Mass. Rec. p. 32. 

t About 40 acres, in 1820, were under cultivation; and the Indians, that 
season, raised 410 bushels of corn, and 50 bushels of beans, besides pota- 
toes. \ Possibly « Onajjounges."-6 Mass. Rec. p. 71. 



Chap, xviii.] of Maine. 475 

voix, they were anciently numerous ;* but neither of them has A. D. ici5, 

1 r I ■! 1 1 '° 1673. 

given us the name ot the tribe ; nor are they so much as men- 
tioned by d'Laet, Jeffreys, Palairet, or Hubbard. If we may be- 
lieve Capt. Francis, this is a younger tribe than either of those 
at Penobscot or St. John. He says it was told him by his 
fathers, that an Indian of the latter married a Tarratine wife, and 
settled at Passaraaquoddy and became a tribe. It is certain, this 
one has immemorially lived on terms of the most friendly inter- 
course with both the others ; and was never known to take an 
active part in any transactions separate from them. Indeed, its 
chiefs are not distinctly mentioned in any treaty, till that of 17G0 ;f 
nor is the name of a single Sagamore previously living, handed 
down to us ;J — so much has the tribe mixed with those tribes, 
and followed their fortune and fate. 

It cannot be reasonably supposed, that tliis tribe, once so num- 
erous and still existing, never had a generic and well known name; 
especially, since it was otherwise with those not larger, in every 
part of New-England. But no ancient name is mentioned either 
by Prince, Hutchinson, Belknap, Sullivan, or any other English 
or American writer. The only author who has given us any clue 
to it, is Baron la Hontan. Between the years 1683 and 1696, 
while he was Lord-Lieutenant of the French colony at Placentia, 
in Newfoundland, he wrote a series of letters, in French, en- 
titled '' New Voyages to North America." He was an early 
writer, favorably situated to acquire a knowledge of the natives; 
and he turned his particular attention to the tribes of these eastern 
parts. In giving a list of their names, he mentions the Openan- 
gos,^ with the Canibas^ Sokokis, and others, as belonging to Aca- 
dia, which he, like other French writers of that age, supposed 
might extend westward of Casco bay. He also represents the 
Openangos to be an " erratic" people, often going from Acadia to 
New-England. II If they were, according to previous facts, the 

* Champlain, p. 42-44.-2 Cliiirchill's Voyag^cs, p. 797-812.— 1 Charle- 
voix's N. F. p. 115. t 9 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 218. 

I Tlicir present chief is Francis Joseph J^eptune — an aged man, of a 
gentle disposition — entirely satisfied with his allotment. His mother was 
a Tarratine, Both parents often told their children to pronounce accord- 
ing to the dialect of their respective tribes. 

5 Capt. Francis supposes " Openango" means the same as little sable 

very cunning. 

II La Hontan, p. 223, 230.— Mr; Heckewelder (page 107) gives credit to 



476 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1613, unchanging allies and associates of the Tarratines ; this shade of 
character, which he gives them, is correct. Where else, if there 

Quoddy was a tribe of that name, could it be settled, excepting about the 
waters and inlets of Passamaquoddy bay ? By what other name, 
except Etechemins,'^' ever mentioned by any early writer, could 
they with the least propriety be called ? — It is true, the moderns 
call them the ^Quoddy Indians, from the name of their bay ; and 
Gov. Barnard, in his speech to the General Court, A. D. 1764, 
makes mention of them as belonging " to the nation of the St. 
"John's Indians." 

The village of this tribe is most delightfully situated, at a 
place called " Pleasant Point"f upon the westerly shore of Pas- 
samaquoddy bay, in the town of Perry, about two leagues abov^e 
Eastport. Here are 35 or 40 wigwams, a school-house and a 
chapel, like the one at Old-town, with a cupola and bell. Be- 
sides the cabins constructed in the Indian form, there are three 
framed houses, one occupied by the Sagamore's son Soc Basin, 
an interpreter and also a priest of the catholic order. Attached 
to sectarian or catholic rites and forms, this tribe and their spirit- 
ual teacher are superstitious believers in the great expiatory 
crucifix, amidst the common cemetery of their dead ; also devo- 
tees to the usage of little crosses standing by the graves of kin- 
dred, and to the inspiring sanctity of images, the censer of in- 
cense, the burning tapers, and holy water. But no motives, no 
persuasives can arouse them from their debasing inactivity. Nei- 
ther the emoluments of industry, the pleasures of education, nor 
the wants of life, have power sufficient to kindle in them, a de- 
sire of becoming a civilized people. They are indigent and de- 



thc authenticity of la Hontan's History ; but Charlevoix says, " the great- 
er part of his facts arc clisfj<^urec!." ?iO, the J\i''orlh Amcrimn Review, J\''o. 
L., Jnmmry, 1S26, p. G7, spoaks of liini as a soldier anJ a skeptic. 

* Charlevoix, [1 vol. A*. F. p. 206,] says, Pontag'oet :s 45 Icag'nes from 
St. John. The rivers of ' the Etechemins arc between the two, but nearest 
' the latter.' Then he adds, ' that all the country, from Port-Royal to Ken- 
' nebeck, arc peopled by what arc at this day called Jlaleciies ;'' and ag'ain, 
' between Pentajoet ;md Kennebeck the savng-es are called Arnnichiquois.' 
It is certain, that all these statements cannot be correct. 

fin 1701 Massachusults boiig-ht 100 acres, including Pleasant Point, of 
one Jol;;i Frost ; and on the 4fh of March, 1801, appropriated the most of 
it, to the use and improvement of the tribe, (ill the further order of the 
General Court. 



Chap, xviii.] of Maine. 477 

pressed — iheir lands, and with tliein their hunting grounds, are no A.D. IG15, 
longer in their possession ; — little more remains to them, than 
their village and their barbarian freedom. 

3. — The other tribe of the Etechemin people, are the Mare- Maiechites. 
chites* — or rather Armouchiquois,\ as their name aj)pears in 
Purchas and some other authors. They inhabited the great 
river, called by them the " Ouygondy,"J but by the Europeans, 
the St. John — possessing one of the most inviting regions for sav- 
age life in the eastern country. This tribe was numerous and 
powerful, and in character, according to Ptu'chas, valiant and 
ingenious. He says, they had attained to some eminence in the 
arts of " painting, carving, and drawing pictures of men, beasts 
" and birds, both in stone and wood." In the first Indian war, 
they were more opposed, than either of the Etechemin tribes to 
the proposition of taking arms against the English; afterwards 
they generally acted in concert with their allies, the Tarratines 
and Openangos, or 'Quoddy tribe. 

The JMarechites have two places of aeneral resort, or com- „ , • 
pact collections of wigwams upon the river§ St. John ; — one is ^iHa^e, 
the village at Meduciic-point, just above the confluence of the 
main river and Eel stream, six leagues eastward of the eastern 
monument. Here are 35 or 40 wigwams, a chapel, and the 
usual residence of an officiating catholic priest. The other, 
called ' Indian Village,'' is on the east side of the river, 100 miles 
higher, near the " Little Falls," and opposite to the mouth of 
Madawaska. It is wholly within this State, — being situated sev- 
eral leagues westwardly of the line, which divides Maine from the 
British Provinces. There is an occasional lodgment on the east- 
ern bank fronting Fredericton ; and it is said, the tribe have 
had a slight fortification, 50 or 60 miles above the mouth of the 
river. || 

The natives, who have been the subject of observation in the 
preceding pages, are the only tribes, with which our History of 
Maine has an immediate concern. But in the sketches of 
Nova Scotia, necessarily interspersed ; it may be expected that 

* Melecites, Jeffreys, J\Iorse ; IVInrccliites, Pinkerlori's Geog. 
fThe French name. | 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 149. 

5 From the mouth of tlie river St. John to Fredericton, the distance is 
62 mites ;— to Mednctic-point 125 miles ;— to the Great Falls 188 miles. 
11 Brit. Dom. p. 256. 



478 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. iG!5, some account will be eiven of the natives in that ancient Prov- 

10 1675. 

ince. 
JMickmnks These, according to la Hontan, Sargeant, Pinkerton, and other 
writers, are collectively called Mickmaks ;* but Purchas, d'Laet, 
Palairet, Oldmixon, Moll and Barton, have given them the name 
of Souriquois.-f They inhabited the great peninsula, south of 
the bay of Fundy, and the neighboring islands, the isthmus, and 
perhaps the eastern shores to Gaspe. Originally they were a very 
numerous people, divided into several tribes, with their respec- 
^ tive Sagamores. The country, however, between Gaspe, and the 

region of the Marechites, some have supposed, was once inhab- 
ited by a nation called the " Mountaineers. ^^^ 

The Mickmaks were a people quite distinct and different from 
the Etechemin tribes ; — in stature larger, with coarser features ; 
in disposition, more cruel and brutish ; in mind, less valiant and 
less intelligent ; speaking a language so dissimilar, as to render 
free conversation with each other impracticable. Yet, ' if the 
' Mickmak dialect was known in Europe,' said one well acquaint- 
ed with it, ' seminaries would be erected for the purpose of prop- 
' agating it.''^. 

When the Europeans first visited Newfoundland, they found 
the natives extremely barbarous, unacquainted with cookery, and 
bread made of Indian corn, and clad in summer, only in the 
habiliments of primitive Eden.|| Those on the main, the Mick- 
maks, were a single grade higher ; who, if not concerned in the first 
three Indian wars, were extremely hostile and savage in the oth- 
ers ; — a scourge of uncommon dread — the merciless destroyers ; 
vi^hom the Provincial rulers found it of the greatest importance 
to tranquillize or restrain by presents and by treaty. Wild and 
indolent, " they still wander from place to place in all the abject- 
"ness of deplorable stupidity." 'Every exertion to improve 
' their condition, has diminished their remains of energy, and dis- 

* " Mickmacks.'' — Manach. 

f Souriquois is the French name— 5 Charlevoix, p. 291. 

I There were ccrtainl}- Mountaineers on the northerly side of the gulf of 
the St. Lawrence ; whose language had an affinity to the Sknffie in the same 
region. Many, since the arrival of the Europeans, have gone to " the less 
frequented wilds of Labrador and Canada." — 3 Coll. JI- Hist. Soc. p. 
15-33. 

5 10 Coll. M. Hist. Soc. p. 115-16. |1 Oldmixon, p. 15.— Moll, p, 256. 



Chap, xviii.] of Maine. 479 

'posed them to expect by alms and begging, what they ought to A.D. I615, 
' obtain by common industry.' The catholic priests have, in 
some degree, checked their propensity to drunkenness ; other- 
wise all endeavors, to bring them into a civilized state and regular 
habits, have been productive of evil rather than benefit.* 

The entire race of Mickmaks have been numerous. It is 
said, they originally had fifteen chiefs, as many tribes, as many 
villages, and in 1760, 3,000 souls. f They hate the Etechemins 
and have little or no intercourse with them. 

They have noted villages, perhaps Sagamores, at Cape Breton, Mickmak 
Isle St. Johns, La Heve, Cape Sable, INlinas, Chigncctou, Poic- '^ " 
tou, and Jediack. They, or the JMountaineers, have several vil- 
lages upon the bank and branches of the Merimachi, which emp- 
ties into the bay of that name. One, called " Burnt Church,^'' 
which is 40 miles from its mouth, exhibits several wigwams, and 
a chapel 40 feet square, the walls of which are constructed of 
split^ocks, laid in lime mortar. Here the natives and the French 
settlers convene and worship, under the pastoral care of a catho- 
lic priest. Indian Town is situated upon the north-west branch 
of the same river, sixty miles higher. It is the principal village 
of a considerable tribe in these eastern parts, represented to be 
as numerous, at the present time, as the Tarratines. Farther 
northward is a small village at " Indian Point,'''' above the head 
of Resiigouche bay, where there is a chapel with a bell, and a 
framed house, the residence of the priest. It is in the midst of 
a Scotch settlement, surrounded with a productive soil, some 
patches of which are cultivated by the natives. They have a 
Sagamore and receive supplies from an Indian trader among them, 
who procures his goods from Quebec. 

Before we close this chapter, it is important to take a general p„p„is,ion 
view of the native population in IVIaine ; — a subject, through a de- "I'^.^'j!® "^" 
ficiency of materials, which is of difficult management, both as 
to perspicuity and correctness Nor can any thing more be ex- 
pected, than some analogous calculations and probable results. 

• Lockwood's New-Brunswick, p. 7. 

t Douglass, in 1 Summ. p. 183, Ihoug-ht the Mickmaks in 1747, " had not 
more than 350 fig-htin^ men." But J)lr. J\Ianach, a French missionary, 
well acquainted with them, says there were 3,000 souls in 1760. — 10 Coll. 
*Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 115: — And 2 Pinkerluns Gcog. p. C28, says, in ISOO 
there were SCO fighters east cf Halifax. 



480 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D^ 1615, The period to which our Statements will relate, commences im- 
mediately prior to the war of the trihes, A. D. 1615 — 17, which 
was succeeded by the sweeping epidemic, previously mentioned. 

Except the tribes in Maine, all the others in New-England 
before described, have been classed into six clans or nations, — 
their allies, branches and dependencies included. Their names 
and the number of men they could bring into battle, according 
to the accounts of Gookin,* Prince, f Hubbard, J and other 
early and correct annalists, are thus transmitted to us : — in Con- 
necticut, the Pequod warriors w^ere 4,000, and the Mohegan, 
3,000 ; in Plymouth colony, those of the Pawkunnawkutts, were 
3,000 ; in Rhode Island, those of the Narragansetts, were 5,000 ; 
in Massachusetts, the bowmen belonging to the ancient people 
called the " Massachuses," were 3,000 ; and in New-Hamp- 
shire, those of the Penacooks and Pentuckets, were 3,000 ; — in 
the whole 21,000 warriors. § If we allow three of them to ten 
souls, agreeably to the fact ascertained in the Powhatan Confed- 
eracy by actual enumeration, as stated by Mr. Jefferson, j] and 
other Virginian writers ; the Indian population of New-England 
exclusive of Maine, would have been 70,000 souls. ^ Some 



■** Daniel Gookin removed from Virg-inia to Massachusetts, about 1644, 
was an Assistant and Major-General, under the colony charter, and a super- 
intendant " of all the Indian?," and knew more about them than all the 
other magistrates. lie died in 1687. — ElioCs Biog. Die. p. 220. 

f Thomas Prince of MiddlcborouQ;!!, was a graduate of Harv. Col. 1707, 
an ordained minister of Old South Church, Boston, 1718, and annalist of 
New-England Cbronology to A. D. 1G33. 

\ William Hubbard was a graduate of Harv. Co!. 1642, minister of Ips- 
wich, and historian of New-England, A. D. 1682. 

\ Gookin.— \ Coll. Muss. Hist. Soc. p. 1 11-229.— Prince, p. IIG.—Huhbard^s 
JV. 7^. p. 449-50. — Ti-timhtill, p. 40, — He thinks there were not more than 
20,000 in Connecticut— J/o/. A. An. p. 418. || Jefferson's Notes, Query xi. 

H This may be thought to be a disproportionate estimate. For the number 
of able-bodied effective men, between 18 and 45, in the New-England 
militia, A. D. 1820, when compared with the census, was only as one to teti. 
Yet many can bear arms before 18 and after 45 years old ; and numbers 
are exempt who could do militar}- duty. Not half who might bear arms, 
are in the train bands. So, in dooming taxes [upon towns, the number of 
ratable polls between 16 and 70, lias been estimated as one to Jive, of all 
the souls in a town at the preceding census: one to fow would be more 
correct. 



Chap, xviii.] ' of bjaiise. 481 

suppose it might originally have been nearly equal to that of the a. D. 1615. 
English, in 1G75.* 

In estimating the whole number of natives originally in Maine, A view of 

, , , • • 1 1 MI 1 • . T . •''f' ii il)es in 

the calculator is un'olved still deeper in conjecture. It is true, Maine 
that this State contains as many square miles, as the residue of 
New-England. Its soil is good, its waste grounds few, and its 
climate healthful. It has also long rivers — a wide seacoast, and 
was covered with a heavy forest; affording the amplest means 
of savage Uvelihood and support, and exhibiting when first dis- 
covered and visited by Europeans, a people overspreading the 
land. Nevertheless, the rivers, upon which the tribes were set- 
tled, were too widely separated from each other, to be promo- 
tive of a dense population ; nor were the soil and climate so con- 
genial to the propagation of the Aborigines, as in the more south- 
erly parts of New-England. 

The few facts, which history contributes, in relation to the 
tribes in Maine, may reflect some light upon the subject. No 
people ever defended their native countiy with more valor and 
obstinacy, than the SoJcoJcif! did theirs, especially in Lovwell's war. sokokis. 
A number of them, relinquishing the French interest, in 1744, 
for the ranks of the English at the seigc of Louisbourg, distin- 
guished themselves among the bravest soldiers. Alterwards, they 
could muster only about a dozen fighting men ; and before the 
capture of Quebec, the tribe was extinct. f 

The Anasaffunticooks. in 1744, had 160 fighters : and when . 
the war of the revolution commenced, ' about 40 of the tribe 'icfoks. 
' made the shores, the ponds, and the Islands of the Androscog- 
* gin their principal home.' Philip Will, a young Indian of Cape 
Cod, was taken captive by the French at the age of 14, in the 
siege of Louisbourg ; and abiding among the natives, became 
the chief of this tribe. He was an Indian of some education, 
and many years instrumental in preventing their utter extinction. f 



* In A. D. 1696, there were in jNew-England about 100,000 whites. — 2 
Holmes, p. 31. — Yet in 1676 there were estimated to be in Massachusetts, 
New-Hampshire and Maine, 150.,0LO.— Hutch. Coll. p. 4S4.— Quere? 

fMass. Letter Book p. Ill— 15.— 1 Doug-, p. 185. 

1 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 26G Sull. p. 263.— Philip Will was brought up in 

the family of Mr. Crocker, where he was (aug-ht to read and write the 
English language and to cypher. He was in height 6 feet 3 inches and 
well proportioned.— »VS. Letter of A. G. Chandler, Esq. 
Vol.. I. 48 



482 

A.D. 1615 
to 1673. 

Cauibas. 



VVawen- 
ocks. 



Eiecheminr. 



THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

None of the Abenaques tribes, however, were more strongly 
attached to their native soil, than the Canibas. They were bold 
and brave fighters through all the Indian wars ; in which they 
sustained probably a greater loss of numbers than any other tribe. 
Aware of their decline, they deeply lamented their cruel fate ; 
having, in 1764, only 30 warriors; and, in 1795, six or seven 
families constituted all their remains.* 

The Wawenocks never made any figure after their ruinous 
war with the Tarratines. Their force was then broken, and more 
than fifteen years, before the French war, in 1753 — 4, they were 
drawn away by the French, to the river Perante in Canada, 
where they settled a village which they called by their own name ; 
and so considerably united wr.s their tribe, as to be able, in 1749, 
to bring into war about 40 fighting men.f Charlevoix says, ' the 
' Indians of the St.- Francois, uniting the Anasagunticooks and 
' Wawenocks, were a colony of the Abenaques, removed from 
'the eastern parts of New-England, for the sake of French 
* neighborhood.' 

The Etechemins, never having been so much wasted by war, 
disease and dissipation, and always larger than the Abenaques 
people, are still inhabitants of their native country, humbled, how- 
ever, in view of their decline and uhimate destiny. Persons 
well acquainted with them in former years, affirm that in 1756, 
they could collectively turn out 1,500 fighting men. Their re- 
maining population in 1820, amounted only to 1,235 souls, that 
is to say, 390 Tarratines ;J 379 Openangos ;§ and 466 Mare- 
chites.|| 

All the preceding circumstances, combined with the wasting 
wars in which the Abenaques were repeatedly engaged ; the 
forces of the Etechemins, whereby they were originally able ta 
keep the western tribes of the Abergineans in fear and awe jIT 
and their enduring existence by tribes, to the present time, united- 
ly conduce to the inference, that the ancient population of 
Maine must have been at least one half of that in the residue of 



* 17 Mass. Rec. p. 399.— 1 Dong-, p. 185. f 1 Douglass, p. 101. 

\ That is, among tlicin were S6 liunlcrs ; 91 under (en years, and 36 camps. 

!)5 Coll. Jlass. Hist. Soc. p. 211. — Fighters incorrectly lupposed to be 
only 30, in 1764. || Tinkerton's Geog. p. 627. 

HThc small-pox spread to Piscataqua, A. D. 1633, " when all the Indians 
except one or two who had it, died." — JFinthrop''s Journal, p. 69. 



Chap, xviii.] OF MAINE. 483 

New-England. For the numbers of the Abenaques warriors A. i). 1615, 
were probably equal or superior to those of the Narragansetts, ^^j^^j 
viz. 5,000 ; and the Etechemin warriors, must now have been ="","""' ^■ 

Iiiilian pop- 
about 6,000; — in all 11,000.* By allowing, then, three of "la''"" in 

. Maine. 

them to ten souls, as in the Powhatan confederacy, the original 
population of Maine, A. D. 1615, must have been 36 or 37,000 ; 
—an estimation probably not very wide of the truth. f 

* The Abenaques estimated thus — 

Sokokis ... 900 warriors 

Anasag'unticooks - - 1,S00 " 

Canibas ... 1,500 

Wawenocks ... 1,100 

5,000 

Etechemins thus — Tarratines • - 2,400 

Openangos - . - 1,400 

Marechites - - 2,200 

6,000 



Total 11,000. 
But one account, (9 Coll. Mass. Hisl. p. 234,) supposes the eastern Indians 
from Massachusetts to Canso, in 1690, only 4,310 souls ; — an estimate man- 
ifestly too low. 
I Also there were Indians at An^amenticus, Casco, and Macbiaa. 



484 'i'Ht^ HisTORV [Vol. i. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The persons of tlienativcs — Their senses — Their dress — Character—' 
Dispositions — Habits — Wigicams — Food — Society — Females — 
Marriages — Religion and Superstition — Christianity among them 
— Their Government — The Bashaba — Sagamores and Sachems — 
Ceremonies of inducting the Tarratine Chiefs into office — Coales- 
cence of the tribes — Six Indian IVars and Treaties — Crimes and 
Punishments — Susup's Cafc — The Employments oj the Indians — 
Hunting — Fishing — 7 heir Canoes — Weapons — Wars — Pris- 
oners — Their Wampam — Their Feasts — An Entertainment — 
Their Amusements — Planners and Customs — Arts — Slusic — Med- 
ical Knowledge — Dishes of Food — Language. 

A D 1615 ^^ ^^■'^ subsequent consideration of the natives, their appear- 
laieib. ance, character, regulations, habits, language, and other peculiar- 
ities, our observations v.'ill be confined, in general, to the Abena- 
ques and tlie Etechemins, with occasional allusions to the Mick- 
maks. 
„ , The Indian is easily distinsruishable from the inhabitant of 

Penons of jo 

iiie Indians, every other country. His stature is above a middling size, his 
body strong and straight, and his features regular and prominent. 
But his broad face, black sparkling eyes, bright olive complex- 
ion, ivory-white teeth, black hair, long and lank, often give to his 
countenance an appearance, wild, fierce and morose. A deformed, 
cross-eyed person, or dwarf, is not found among them ; nor are 
any of the men corpulent. In walking, both sexes incline their 
feet inwards, by means of a discipline during infancy, enabling 
them more conveniently to traverse the woods. By reason of an 
unction, with which they anoint their bodies, to avoid the trouble 
of flies and vermin, or owing to some other cause, the beards up- 
on the men in general have no considerable growth.'^' 
Tiirir With senses acute and perceptions quick and clear, the Indian 

«e»isus. jg ^ij gyeg^ all ears, and all observation ; — nothing escapes his 
notice. None are blind, deaf, or dumb ; and his impressions of 



* Smithy in his TJinlniy, p. 17, sa\s tliey had no beards : — But several of 
the Tarratinss have told in'?, thf.)' pul! out their hsards when voting-. 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 485 

men or places, are coeval with life. He will travel unfrequented a.d. I6i5, 

. . . . 'o 1675. 

forests without compass or mistake. The Mickmaks, in their 
wars with the Esquimaux, have been known to cross, in their 
slender canoes, the gulf of St. Lawrence, 40 leagues over.* 

The savage state promotes bodily exercise, inures to hardships, jf^Ia^ii,, 
and preserves from the maladies incident to civilized life. Few 
are sickly or feeble. JNIany live to a great age, possessing tlieir 
energies and faculties to the last. Orono, Sagamore of the Tar- 
ratines, who died, A. D. 1801, lived to the advanced age of 113 
years ; and his wife at the time of her death, the preceding year, 
was aged 100, 

The dress and ornaments of the males and females are a cu- Their dress 
riosity. With a taste for bright or lively colors, their clothes are"" 
gay, often changed in kind, never in fashion. When our shores 
were first visited by de Monts, Gosnold, Smith, and others ; the 
natives were clad in skins, without the fur in summer and with it 
in winter. Some wore mantles of deer-skins, embroidered with 
chains of beads, and variously painted ; and those of others were 
curiously inwrought and woven Avith threads and feathers, in a 
manner exhibiting only the plumage. The poorer sort appeared 
with nothing more than hard skins about their loins and shoulders ; 
and a few, in the warm seasons, wore little else than the robe of 
nature. f 

In their present fashions, or forms, they wear a woollen cap, 
or bonnet, cut diagonally and made of a conic shape, enclosing 
the ears and terminating behind upon the neck. Next to the 
skin, both sexes wear a cotton or a linen under-shirt, extending 
down the third of an ell over the short drawers of the one, and 
the narrow petticoat of the other — severally begirt about the loins. 
The coats of the men, sewed at the folds, or sides, are lapped 
over in front and kept together by a belt, without any buttons, 
and reach below the knee ; and the tunic, or vest of the women 
is pinned before, also their petticoat, though very narrow, falls 
some lower. The stockings they both wear, are never knit, but 
usually made of blue cloth, sewed with selvedges on the outer 
sides, and extend over the knee. Though shoes can be con- 



* Jeffreys, p. 94. 

t Oldrnixon, p. 15,23,24. — H. Trumbull's Indian Wars, p. 91. — Indian 
Wars, (anon.) p. 229. 



men is. 



486 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1615, veniently obtained, they prefer moccasins, and usually wear them. 
None of the females ever cut a hair from their heads, but club or 
cue the whole ; whereas the males shave off all, except a single 
lock about the crown,* ' that it may not be starved,' to use their 
own language, ' by the growth of the rest.'f 

Thrir orna- The uativcs are excessively fond of ornaments, plumes, and 
finery ; as if gaudy brightness and beauty could vie for the palm 
with genuine taste and refinement. Whatever glitters, captivates. 
Both sexes, especially the females, adorn their fingers with gold 
rings ; their necks with wampam or silver collars ; their arms 
with clasps ; their bosoms with brooches, or pendants; their ears 
with jewels — all of the brightest silver. Among the more wealthy, 
the men, when appearing in their best, wear long sashes and the 
ivomen broad scarfs over their shoulders, covered with brooches 
of the same precious metal ; and some have tinsel or silver hat- 
bands : — For many of both sexes now wear men's hats instead 
of the ancient caps. The maidens in their fondness for brilliant 
colors, and for ribbons and plumes which are gay, discover a wild 
unripe taste; though by some, the English daughters of fashion 

* 2 Belk. Biog-. p. 102. 

f Present Slate nf Jfova Scotia, p. 50. — John de Laet says, ' four leagues 
north from Kenncbeck, following' the direction of the coast, there is a bay 
containing- in its bosom a large number of Islands, and near its entrance, one 
of them is called by the French navigators, the Island of Bacchus, from 
the great abundance of vines found growing- there. The barbarians that 
inhabit here, are in some respects unlike the other aborigines of New- 
France — differing somewhat from them both in language and manners. 
They shave their heads from the forehead to the crown ; but suffer their 
hair to grow on the back side, confining it in knots and interweaving feath- 
ers of various plumage. They paint their faces red or black ; are well 
formed; and arm themselves with spears, clubs, bows and arrows, which, 
for want of iron, the}' point with the tail of a crustaceous creature called 
signoc. They cultivate the soil in a different manner from the savages, 
that live east of them; planting maize [Indian corn] and beans together; 
so that the stalks of the former, answer tiie purpose of poles for the vines 
to run upon. Their fields are enclosed. They plant in May, and harvest 
in September. Walnut frees grow here, but inferior to ours. Vines are 
abundant ; and it is said by the French, that the grapes gathered in July, 
make good wine. The natives, also, raise pumpkins and tobacco. They 
have permanent places of abode ; their cabins are covered with oak bark, 
and are defended by palisadoes.' — 2 Lib. de Laet, chap, 19. — Nevus Ob- 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 4S7 

are the enviable patterns of their imitation.* When Aitteon and a. d. igi5, 

. 10 1G75. 

Neptune were inaugurated chiefs, the Tarratine females were 
attired in their best, wearing rich silks, tinsel fillets and all their 
ornaments — seldom, if ever appearing better dressed. 

The military appearance of the men is both singular and war- i\i.iiinry ap- 
like. On ihcir breasts, they wear glittering medals of copper or''^ 
silver ; in their ears and sometimes their noses, pendant jewels ; 
and about their heads, turbans of waving feathers. Vv'itli red 
pigment, they paint their taces, in a variety of ways, which make 
their appearance, according to design, truly terrific. 

All our Indians have a peculiar cast of character. Among Tiipir thar- 
themselves, every right and possession is safe. No locks, no "^ 
bars are necessary to guard them. In trade they are fair and 
honest ;f astonished at the crimes which while men commit, to 
accumulate property. Their lips utter no falsehoods to each 
other, and the injuries done an individual, they make a common 
cause of resentment. Such is an Indian's hospitality, that if an 
unarmed stranger comes among them and asks protection, he is 
sure to find it. If cold, he is warmed ; if naked, cloilied ; if 
hungry, fed with the best the camp aftbrds. They are faithful 
and ardent in friendship, and grateful for favors, which are never 
obliterated from their memories. Ordinarily possessing great 
patience and equanimity of mind, the men bear misfortunes with 
perfect composure, giving proofs of cheerfulness amidst the most 
untoward incidents. With a glow of ardor for each other's wel- 
fare, and tlie good of their country ; all offer voluntary services 
to the public ; all burn with the sacred flame of patriotism ; and 
all most heartily celebrate the heroic deeds of their ancestors. 
The point of honor is every thing in their view. Sensibility in 
their hearts is a spark which instantly kindles. An injury, a 
taunt, or even a neglect, will arouse all the resentments of their 
untutored minds, and urge them on to acts of fatal revenge. An 
Indian is a being, grave and taciturn. He seldom laughs ; he 



* " ri! shape like theirs my simple dress, 
" And bind like liicm each jetty tress, 
" And for my dusky brow will braid 
" A bonnet like an English maid. — English Mary. 

■j- But they are bad pa3-masters: — being- rcg-ardless of (lieir promises. 
Alanv who have trusted them, have sustained total losses of their debts. 



488 THE HISTORY [VoL. T. 

A. D. 1615, rather prefers to hear, than to talk: and when he speaks, it is 
to 1675. r J 

always to the purpose. 

But his darker shades of character are many. He is always 
strongly inclined to be idle. In peace he has no great stimulus 
to exertion, for wealth, learning and office are not motives of his 
ambition ; and in war or revenge the agitations subside, when the 
crisis is past. Bred, like the animals of the woods, unused to 
parental restraints, and trained to privations from their childhood, 
they affect never to dread suffering, never exquisitely to feel an- 
guish — never to have sympathies for the meekest tortured enemy. 
Their (lis- .Jealousy, revenge and cruelty, are attributes of mind, which 
truly belong to them. If they always remember a favor, they 
never forget an injury. To suspect the worst — to retaliate evil 
for evil — to torture a fallen captive — to keep no faith with an 
enemy — and never to forgive, seem to be maxims, the correctness 
of v;hich, according to their ethics, admits of no question. To 
them, so sweet in thought, and so glorious in fact, is successful 
revenge ; that they will go through danger and hardships to the 
end of life, for the sake of effecting their purpose. No arts, no 
plans, no means, are left unessayed to beat or kill the object they 
hate. To cite two or three instances. A butcher, accidentally 
meeting a Tarratine Indian was beat by him unmercifully, because 
at some previous period, he had, as the savage said, sold him 
tainted meat. John Neptune, in consequence of a supposed in- 
jury done some of his tribe, threatened the wrong-doer at Old- 
town from day to day, with certain death. Another man durst 
not be alone long in one place, through fear of being murdered 
by several Tarratines, who haunted and pursued him to avenge 
a suspected injury.* 
Wrongs 1" agreement with the defenders of the natives, however, it 

jiai'ivi'" '"^^ m'.st be acknowledged, that Weymouth, Harlow, Smith, the mas- 
ter of Popham's ship, and perhaps othersf were aggressors, in 
kidnapping several of them from their shores ; that they were 
deprived of their lands and privileges by the encroaching settlers ; 
and that many impositions were practised upon them in barter 



* The natives hated jVcgroes, and g-enerally would kill them as soon as 
they were taken captive. 

t Ante, A D. 1(505—11— 14.— Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 28C.— Smith, p. 
18-20.— Priiico, p. G3, !0. 



Chap, xix.] of xMaine. 489 

and bargains. But, this was exclusively attributable to individ- a. d. 1C15, 
uals ; most or all of the lands occupied by the planters, being 
claimed under purchases of the Sagamores, all kidnapping of 
the natives being universally censured, and the [prisoners gener- 
ally returned or set free. Nor could the ravages^, of the small- 
pox,* nor yet those of ardent spirits among them, be sins laid to 
the charge of the English as a community — they never having 
made any use of these scourges of mankind to exterminate the 
natives. On the contrary, they have, when ready to perish, a 
thousand times, received of the settlers, provisions, clothing, fire- 
arms, edgetools and other articles of necessity and convenience. 

Passions inflamed by trifles, often become settled malice and Their cm 
revenge, and render their wars bloody and cruel. Old men, ^'"*^^" 
women and children, though too feeble to use a weapon, were 
sometimes barbarously dispatched ; and the Indians generally 
abused or neglected their captives. If a child cried, or an adult 
sunk under his burden, instant death was commonly their portion. 
How many houses of the unoflending inhabitants have been re- 
duced to ashes ? how many hundreds slain, or sold into Canadian 
slavery ? Nay, if the Indian's malignity was not satanical to a 
fearful degree, why did he wreak his vengeance on slender fe- 
males or sickly infants ? why revengefully hunt for the precious 
life, when the war had ceased .-' 

Their inordinate thirst for ardent spirits has been attributed to ^, . , . 
their perpetual traverse of the woods, and their constant use of ''"■ "'"''eni 

m • spirits. 

fresh water and unsalted meat. They will take strong liquor un- 
mixed, till they can swallow no more. They are then to a fright- 
ful degree, violent and mischievous. Their firearms and knives, 
must then be taken from them, to prevent murder. 

Their manner of livins; is meagre and uncomfortable. The 

. . Thfiirman- 

best wigwams in their villages, are constructed, one story in height, ner of living, 
from 20 to 40 feet in length, and two thirds the same in width, warns. " 
The plates are supported bycrotched posts thrust into the ground. 
The'sides and roofs, were formerly thatched with bark ; — now 
sometimes covered with rough boards and battened. They are 
without glass windows, and without doors ; the entrance into 

* The natives considered the smallpox the greatest evil that ever befell 
mankind. — Pres. State of JVova Scotia, p. 45, 60. 
Vol. I. 49 



490 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1615, them being through a narrow opening, which is closed by a 
hanging rug, like a curtain, to keep out cold and rain. Within, 
are platforms on each side next to the walls, or layers of boughs 
upon the ground. Here men, women and children, sit in a man- 
ner not unlike a tailor on his shopboard ; here they eat, with the 
victuals in their fingers ; here they sleep, with no other bedding 
than a bear skin underneath, and a few blankets over them. In 
the area between the platforms, the fire is built, without fire-place, 
chimney or hearth ; an aperture being left open for the smoke to 
escape through the roof. Four families are frequently tenants of 
a single wigwam. Yet, they have nothing like a chair, a mova- 
ble stool, or table ; all the furniture in these miserable cabins, 
consisting of a few wooden and iron vessels, knives and baskets. 
The movable wigwams are of a conic form, constructed with 
slender poles, making angles of fifty or sixty degrees at the ground, 
converging to a point at the vertex, and inclosing a circular area 
of 12 or 15 feet in diameter. They are without floor, chimney 
or window. The inside ground is spread with boughs ; and the 
outside is thatched with bark. They have no regular meals, ex- 
cept in the evening ; — they take their repast when they have an 
appetite. Their victuals are indifferent, changing with the sea- 
sons. No creature they take is unfit for food. In the winter it 
is flesh ; in the spring, fish ; in the summer and autumn, green 
corn, maize, and vegetables. But they did not know how to 
make their maize into bread, till the Europeans came among 
them.* They smoke and broil their meats; they roast their 
groundnuts in the ashes ; and with the sap of the sugar maple, 
boiled to molasses, they sweeten their cakes. They pounded 
their corn in stone mortars, and made the water boil in wooden 
troughs, by means of stones heated in the fire. 

The Indians are far from any thing like cleanliness, either in 
their persons or their huts. Their faces, hands, clothes, vessels, 
never know what it is to be washed ; and their dark and dirty 
abodes are equally offensive to the eye and the nose. 
Serial liie Socicty, which commenced with the primitive pair, is one of 
the strongest propensities of human nature. This is even mani- 
fest in savage life. All the members of a family, are united by 



♦Oldmixon, p. 15, 23.— H. Trumbull'* Indian Wars, p. 91. 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 491 

the strongest attachments, and the individuals of a tribe are hoi- A. D. 16I6, 

, . . . « «o 1675. 

den together by similar ties. 

If the women were in truth as cleanly, as by nature comely, 
some of them might be called secondary beauties. The maids 
are modest and retiring ; and all the better sort prefer to barter 
their baskets and other articles, with the females only, of the En- 
glish. The continency of wives is seldom violated ; — all conver- 
sation between one and an Englishman, in presence of her " san- 
up," or husband, is quickly chided by him, whose command is, 

* talk to me ;' — an usage which renders females reserved. Con- 
stitutional foes, as they are to contention ; their peculiar charac- 
teristic is that of peacemakers. As manual labor, in an Indian's 
view, is mean drudgery, it is performed by the other sex. To 
the mother and daughters, is assigned the whole business of agri- 
culture. They plant and hoe the corn ; secure the harvest ; take 
care of the fish and game, and do the cookery. But when the 
repast is prepared, the wife and children wait till the husband or 
father has finished his meal. The female savage seldom if ever 
intoxicates ; and in fact, she sustains a much better general char- 
acter than the man. 

Among the Etechemins, marriages are negotiated by the fa- 
thers and solemnized, in modern times, by a catholic priest. 
Capt. Francis says, 'if an Indian is charmed with a squaw, he 

* tells his parents, and they talk with her's ; and if all are pleas- 
*€d, he sends her a string of wampam, perhaps 1,000 beads, 
' and presents her with a wedding suit. All meet at the wigwam 

* of her parents ; the young couple sit together till married ; they 

* and the guests then feast and dance all that night and the next ; 
' and then the married pair retire.' — Early wedlock is encour- 
aged, and a couple, in a fit of matrimonial union, will, for the 
purpose of finding a priest, traverse the woods to Canada. In 
later times, polygamyf is not known among them ; and divorces, 
which are never very frequent, are by mutual consent. 

A sanup has unlimited control over his wife, having been 
known to take her life with impunity. A case of the kind oc- 

* 1 Coll. JI. Hist. Soc. p. 254. — Some of the English who have lived with 
the Indians, were unwilling to leave them. 

t Capt. Francis says, before the white people came here, sometimei " lu" 
diani have four wives." 



Relis 



492 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. n. 1615, curred in 1775, when one in a paroxysm of rage, slew his squaw 
and hid her body under the ice of the Penobscot, without being, 
according to report, so much as questioned for his conduct. 

Children, who are strangers to the restraints and instructions 
of parents, leave them when able to procure a living for them- 
selves. The character of a community, formed of such materi- 
als, is readily anticipated : — It cannot be otherwise than bad. 

The religious notions of the natives are rude and full of su- 
perstition. They believe in a Great Spirit, whom the Abenaques 
called Tanto or Tantum, and the Etechemins Sazoos ; — also 
in the immortality of the soul, — and in a paradise far in the 
west, where He dwells, and where all good men go when they 
die. To the wicked they suppose He will say, when they knock 
at the heavenly gates, ' go wander in endless misery, — you never 
shall live here.' For plenty, victory, or any other great good, 
they celebrated feasts with songs and dances, to His praise. 

They had strong faith in an evil spirit, whose satanic Majesty 
they called " Mojahondo ;" — supposing he possessed the attributes, 
in general revealed of that being, in the Scriptures. They believ- 
ed also in tutelar spirits, or good angels, whom they denominated 
Manniton ; and they entertained great veneration for their Poxv- 
ows.^ These, uniting in one person the two offices of priest and 
physician, were supposed to possess almost miraculous powers. 
By invocations uttered in an unknown tongue — by preternatural 
charms — by leaping and dancing through the fire — and by 
.strange orisons ; — they pretended to have converse with occult 
oracles and demons, and to receive ambiguous responses like the 
Greeks of Delphos.f 

The Indians told a traditional story, that the Great Spirit creat- 
ed one man and one woman ; and from them proceeded all man- 
kind. J But, before the arrival of the Europeans, the natives had 
no knowledge of the Sabbath, nor had they any religious meet- 
ings. ' All days,' Capt. Francis says, 'were alike to them.' 

They believed in dreams, and sometimes commemorated 
them by feasts."§. No people are more superstitious. They re- 
garded an old tree in Nova Scotia whh pious veneration, and 
loaded it with offerings. They thought it the residence of some 

* Indian Wars, (anonymous) p. 299. f Oldmixon, p. 15.— H. Moll, p. 256. 
J Purchas, p. 333—939. \ Jeffreys, p. 81—94 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 493 

great or good spirit. After its roots were laid open by the sea, a. d. igi5, 
they continued to venerate it so long as a branch remained. 

Their dead were generally buried in a sitting posture. In Burials. 
Pittston, upon the Kennebeck, are two old burying grounds, where 
skeletons are found in a posture half erect, the head bending over 
the feet. Relics of human bodies have been discovered in a 
tumulus near Ossipee pond, which were originally buried with 
the face downward. In dicse two places, and in others upon the 
Kenduskeag, and elsewhere, there have been discovered instru- 
ments, paints and ornaments interred, — the requisites to help 
the departed spirits to the " country of souls." The modern 
manner of burials is borrowed from the catholics. The corpse, 
enclosed in a rough coffin, is followed by an irregular procession 
to the burying ground ; and when interred, a little wooden cruci- 
fix is placed at the head of the grave, which is sprinkled with 
consecrated water, and perfumed with flowers or herbs. If a Tar- 
ratine dies abroad, he must, if possible, be borne to Old-town and 
buried in the common grave-yard. 

The female lamentations for the dead are great and sometimes 
excessive. The deadi of a young child, swept away from the 
arms of its mother, as the two lay sleeping in a summer's day, 
between high and low water mark upon the Penobscot beach, 
affords a striking instance of savage grief. She burst into loud 
and excessive lamentations ; and mingled her cries with inarticu- 
late jabber ; — an hour scarcely closing this scene of shrieking and 
tears. 

Christianity was early introduced and subsequently taught, Christianity, 
among the Abenaques and Etechemin tribes by the catholic 
missionaries, such as Biard, Masse,* Dreuillettes,f the two Bigots, 
Ralie,J and others. They effected great changes in the views 
and practices of the natives. The Powows lost their influence 
and came to an utter end. Superstitious rites and rituals, blend- 
ed with endeavors to inculcate and deepen the moral sense, and 
to encourage religious worship, becoming established, are still 



* A. D. 160S, at Mount Desert. 

tThc Capuchin priests had a trading house and religious chapel at Pen- 
tagoet in 1646. — 1 Charlevoix, p. 435. 

I A. D. 16S9, at ISorridgewock.— See Jeffreys, 103.— 1 Hoi. A. Ann. 344. 
—7 Coll. JIass. Hist. Soc. p. 245-50. 2d series.—Vincent Bigot, was at Pe- 
nobscot in 1688 ; and Jaques Bigot, was at Kennebeck in 1699. 



494 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.n 1613, extant amona; the remnants of the tribes. But neither their 

to 1G7.5. , ... . , . 

morals, manners, prmciples or virtues, nor yet their customs, sen- 
timents or taste, have undergone any very extensive or real im- 
provements. In all these, the Indians are natives still, without any 



essential change. 



Govern- 
ment. 



Among these eastern tribes, there was a great similarity of 
government. It was of the simplest form, which possesses the 
powers of restraint and coercion. Such were their exalted 
ideas of liberty, that they had no word by which to express our 
meaning of subject ; and the character of a master formed in 
their view, some attribute of a demon. In society, where filial 
obedience is unknown, political subordination can never be great. 
Here was civil freedom and an equality of rights, though not of 
rank. 

The greatest aboriginal monarch of the east was entitled ' the 
Bashaha,^ previously mentioned, whose residence was with the 
Wawenock tribe. Besides his immediate dominions, extending 
probably from St. Georges to Kennebeck, the tribes westward to 
Agamenticus, and even farther, acknowledged him to be their 
paramount lord. His overthrow, in 1615 or 16, terminated the 
royal line and rank.* 
Sa'^amore. -^^ ^^^ head of every tribe was a Sagamore,\ or chief magis- 
.Sachcm. trate, whose councillors, or wise men, were denominated Sachems, 
— in modern times, captains. He and they knew their influence 
and felt their importance. In council they directed war and 
peace ; they had the oversight of the public dominions ; and with 
very (qw established rules, they, according to discretion, appoint- 
ed the punishments of offenders. The government was patriar- 
chal. The Sagamore, possessing superiority of rank and power, 
always presided when present ; and next to him, was a sachem of 
secondary grade and influence. On great occasions, all the prin- 
cipal men of the tribe were convened and consulted. These as- 
semblies, from which females were uniformly excluded, were con- 
ducted with the greatest order ; the old men spake first and were 
especially regarded and venerated, for their wisdom and experi- 

* I Belk. Biog. p. 351 — 355. — He had many under him. The Saco " is 
the westernmost river of the dominions of Bashebez." — Purchas^ Pilgrims, 
10 Book, chap. 6. 

t Sounded by the Indians, «' Sunk-a-muh," — ' Sagamore" and " Sachem." 
— See Statement of Kennebeck Claims, p. 21. 



I 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 495 

ence ; and all their debates and discussions were managed with the a. D_ iGis, 

greatest decorum and secrecy also, when the occasion required 

it. 

The office of a Sagamore continues during life. When he dies, 
the tribe manifest a strong predilection to have his son, or some 
near relation, succeed him. In these designations, or selections, 
party spirit often runs high ; the aspirants and their supporters 
exhibiting all the violence of the competition, manifested in civiliz- 
ed communities. 

The three Etechemin tribes have, severally and immemorially, 
selected their Sagamores and Sachems, or subordinate officers, 
in form of a general election.* But the candidate, when chosen, 
is not inducted into office, without the presence and assistance of 
a delegation fi-om each of the other tribes. This was the case 
when Francis Joseph Neptime, at Passamaquoddy, and John Ait- 
teon, at Penobscot, were made chiefs of their respective tribes ; 
and the most intelligent credible Indians agree in saying, that such 
is the practice among the Marechites, and has always been the 
usage among all three of the tribes. The ceremonies of a single 
induction, whereof the writer was an eyewitness, are worthy of 
a particular statement. 

The parties in the Tarratine tribe were so sanguine and violent -p^^,.. 
after they lost their chief, that they could not for manv months '■,''^'^^,'"' 

•^ ' -^ - dueled nil 

agree upon a successor. Perplexed with the long controversy *>* 
and deeply concerned in effecting an union, the catholic priest 
interposed his influence ; when they were induced to leave the 
rival candidates, and select John Aitieon, a reputed descendant of 
Baron de Castine, by an Indian wife. 

On the 19th of September, 181G, at Old-town village. Saga- 
more Aitteon, John JVeptune, next in grade and command, and 
two captains were inducted into office, with the customary cere- 
monies. To assist in these, the chiefs and 1 5 or 20 other princi- 
pal men from each of the tribes at St. John's river and at Passa- 
maquoddy, had previously arrived, appearing in neat and becom- 
ing dresses, all in the Indian fashion. 

Early in the forenoon, the men of the Tarratine tribe, conven- 
ing in the great wigwam, called the camp, seated themselves on 

* They are in modern limes called Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and 
Captains, — names borroivcd from the English. 



line 



496 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D 1615, the side platform according to seniority, Aitteon, Neptune, and 
the select captains at the head, near the door ; the former two 

Iiidiaii '■ 

chiefs in- beins; clad in coats of scarlet broadcloth and decorated with silver 

dueled into ^ 

office. brooches, collars, arm-clasps, jewels, and other ornaments. Upon 
a spread before them, of blue cloth, an ell square, were exhibited 
four silver medals ; three of which were circular and twice the 
size of a dollar, the other was larger, in the form of a crescent. 
All these were emblematically inscribed with curious devices, 
and suspended by parti-colored ribbons, a yard in length, with 
ends tied. Aware of gentlemen's wishes to be spectators of the 
ceremonials, they directed the Indian, acting the part of marshal, 
to invite them into the camp. The admission of the female vis- 
itants was also requested ; but he replied, as directed by the 
chiefs, — ' never our squaws, nor yours, set ivith us in council.^ 

The spectators being seated below the tribe, upon the platform, 
or benches, covered with blankets ; the Marechite delegation, 
preceded by their chief, entered the camp in true Indian file, and 
sat down, according to individual rank, directly before the Tarra- 
tines. These now uncovered their heads and laid aside their 
caps and hats, till the ceremonies were closed. 

Four belts of wampam, brought into the camp by a stately 
Marechue, were unfolded and placed in the area upon a piece of 
broadcloth, which enclosed them ; when his Sagamore, presently 
rising, took and held one of them in his hands, and addressed 
Aitteon, from five to ten minutes, in a courtly speech of pure ver- 
nacular, laying the belt at his feet. Three others in rotation, and 
next in rank, of the same tribe, addressed, in a similar manner, 
the Tarratine candidates of comparative grade ; — all which were 
tokens of unchanging friendship and sanctions of perpetual union. 
The Sagamore, then taking the medal nearest Aitteon, addressed 
him and his tribe in another speech of the same length as the 
former ; in the course of which he came three or four times to 
momentary pauses, when the Tarratines collectively uttered deep 
guttural sounds, like " aye." These were evident expressions of 
their assent to have Aitteon, Neptune, Francis, and the other, 
their first and second Sagamores, and two senior captains. The 
speaker, closing his remarks, advanced and placed the suspended 
medal, as the badge of investiture, about Aitteon's neck, — the act 
by which he was formally Inducted into office and constituted 



Chap. xix.J of MAINE, 497 

Sagamore for life. Neptune and the two captains, in their turns, A.D. IG15, 
after being; shortly addressed by the other Marcchite actors, were " 

^ _ _ _ ' Jfiflian 

invested by them with the ensigns of office in the same wa^'. chiefs in- 

T-v • 1 ■ 1 1/-^ 1 1 T T ducted into 

Durmg these ceremonies, the 'Quoddy Indians without, stood office, 
around a standard, twenty feet in height, to and from the top of 
which, they alternately hoisted and lowered a flag, as each Tarra- 
tine was inducted into office ; at the same time and afterwards, 
firing salutes from a well-loaded swivel, near the same place. 

Mr. Romaigne, the catholic priest, attired in a white robe and 
long scarf, having seated himself among the Tarratines, before 
the ceremonies were commenced, now rising, read appropriate 
passages from the Scriptures in Latin, and expounded them in the 
Indian dialect ; and next a psalm, which he and the Marechites 
chaunted with considerable harmony. In the midst of the sa- 
cred song, the whole of them moved slowly out of the camp, 
preceded by the priest, leaving the Tarratines seated ; and form- 
ing a circle in union with the 'Quoddy Indians, stood and sang 
devoutly several minutes, and closed with a " Te Deum." 

The priest then departed to his house ; and the Indians enter- 
ing the camp, took their seats — the 'Quoddy Indians in a lower 
place, abreast the sitting spectators, when they commenced their 
tangible salutations. In this form of civility, each of the two 
delegations rising in turn, literally embraced, cheek and lips, the 
four new-made officers, and shook heartily by the hand, all the 
others of the tribe. 

The gentlemen, at the marshal's request, now withdrew ; — to 
be spectators only about the doors and apertures ; when the 
Tarratine females, clad in their best dresses and fancifully orna- 
mented, joined for the first time, the Indian assemblage, and the 
whole formed an elliptical circle for dances. In close Indian 
file they moved forward in successive order, with a kind of 
double shuffle, to their lormer places, animated by the music of 
a light beat upon a drum, in the midst of the circus, with the ac- 
companiment of a vocal tune.* The female dancers then retir- 
ed ; the Indians took their seats ; and the spectators were re-ad- 
mitted. 

To close the ceremonies, four chief men of the Marechites 

* Formerly their chief instruments were rattles, made of small gourds 
and pumpkin shells. — Smith, p. 32. 
Vol. I 50 



498 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1615, severally rose in succession and sang short songs, somewhat en- 
j ,. ' tertaining, which were duly responded by others from the new- 
ciiiefsin- made officers ; throiidiout which, the whole assemblage uttered, 

dueled into JO ^ o ? 

office. at almost every breath, a low-toned emphatic guttural sound, not 
unlike a hickup — the singular way by which they expressed their 
plaudits and pleasures. 

More than three hours were consumed in these ceremonies ; 
which were succeeded by a feast already preparing. Two fat 
oxen, slaughtered and severed into pieces, were roasting ; rice, 
beans, and garden vegetables were boiling; and bread-loaves and 
crackers were abundant. If the cookery, neatness and order, 
were unworthy of modern imitation; the defects were counter- 
balanced by the hearty invitations and welcomes, with which all 
the visitants equally with the natives, were urged to become par- 
takers, both of the repast and of the festive scenes. The regu- 
larities of the day relaxed to rude dances and wild sports in the 
evening, which were by no means free from extravagance and 
excess. 
Confedera- These circumstances are evincive of the cordial fraternity and 
Ttivcs'''* political union of these three tribes. Never have they been 
known on any emergency, to act otherwise than in concert. Nor 
have we any accounts, that either of the Abenaques tribes ever 
took arms against the others. It is certain, the ties of their at- 
tachment were uniformly strong ; and in every movement, there 
was great unanimity. Among the Mickmak Sagamores we find, 
likewise, an ardent coalescence ; there being no traditional report 
of their making war at any time upon each other. But no con- 
federacy or union existed between any two of the three great 
Aberginean, Abenaques, and Etechemin people mentioned, until 
Philip's war, when a common interest softened their asperities 
towards one another, and urged them into a general warfare against 
the colonists, 
intercours ^Lu-ing fifty years, the planters and traders in Maine, had 
of iheci.io- great intercourse with the natives, undisturbed b}' any open rup- 

nisis and i,t . . . 

natives. ture. When they commenced hostilities, they were full of re- 
venge and greedy of spoils. No presents, no treaties, no other 
expedient could, for any length of time, bind them in the bonds 
of peace. Tlieir jealousies and antipathies towards the English 
were habitual ; and when it was too late, they had a fearful vision 
of ultimate exile or utter extinction. Within a period of eighty- 



Chap. xix.J of MAINE. 499 

five years, between the war of Philip, A. D. 1675, and the cap- a.d. i616, 

_, . . . 10 1675. 

ture of Quebec, the inhabitants of Maine have been extreme 
sufferers in six Indian wars ;* — some of which were lonjr and all '^'^ ''"''a" 
of them bloody. The 1st, lasted three years ; the 2d, nine and treaties. 
a half; the 3d, ten; the 4th, three and a half; the 5th, Jour^ 
and the 6th, ^ye years. The number of treaties have been much 
greater; our political relations with the tribes, till they became 
extinct or peaceable, being always of considerable importance. 

All acts and proceedin2;s of the natives are regulated by a f^aws and 

r • • rri 1 regulation*. 

present sense of fitness, and immediate benefit. They have no 
written constitution, no code of laws, no judicial process, no per- 
manent documents. The fires of avarice and ambition, — the 
passions for riches and influence, which are the great disturbers 
of the civilized world, lie comparatively dormant in the savage 
breast. The Indians are a very peculiar race. Their territories 
are holden by the tribe in common ; individuals are willing stran- 
gers to an extended commerce and to accumulated wealth ; and 
therefore, no regulations are needed among them, except what 
are made for the purpose of preventing and punishing personal 
injuries. 

Their laws of course consist of a few immemorial usages 
and plain maxims, — manifestly the mere dictates of natural 
reason. Checks and restraints must be given to the malignant 
passions ; otherwise no ligaments are strong enough to bind firmly 

* The wars and principal treaties with the eastern tribes : — MiJg'g:'8 
treaty, Nov. 6, 1676.— 2 JVefl/'s JV. E. p. 403-5. 

1. King Philip''s war, from June 24, 1675, to the treaty of Casco, April 
12, 1678.— Mass. /?ec.— Treaty of Portsmouth, Sept. 8, 16S5.— Belknap's 
jN". H. p. 34S. 

2. King JPllliam's war, (rom August 13, 16S8, to the treaty of Mare- 
point, Brunswick, January 7, 1699 2 Math, Magnal. p. 556-7. — Treaty 

of Pemaquid, Aug'ust 11, 1693. — 2 JIath. Mag. p. 542-3, entire. 

3. Queen Anne''s war, from August, 1703, to the treaty of Portsmouth, 
July 11, 1113.— Penhallow's Indian Wars.— I Coll. JV, H. Hist. Soc. p, 83-6. 

4. LovweWs war, (rom June 13, 1722, to Dummer's celebrated treaty, 
Dec. 15, 1725. — Sccrdary''s Office, Boston, — entire. 

5. The Spanish, or Jive years'' Indian "oar, from July 19, 1745, to the trea- 
ty of Falmouth, Oct. 16, 1749.— 9 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 220-3.— Treaty 
of Halifax, August 15, 1749. — Secretarr/s Office, Boston. 

6. French and Indian war, from April, 1755, to the conquest of Quebec, 
and treaty of Halifax. Feb. 22, 1760, and Pownal's treaty, April 29. — Stt. 
Office. 

Treaty with the Mickmaks and Marechites, July 19, 1776. 



)0 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

D. 1615, a community together. The principal crimes which occur among 
the Indians are homicides, violent assaults, and drunkenness ; — 
sometimes treachery, theft and adulterous intercourse. But they 
are strangers to arson, robber^:, burglary, perjury, forgery, frauds, 
ravishment and many other offences, vvbich so much disturb and 
blacken civilized society. 

rences Crimes and aggravated misdemeanors are summarily examin- 

ieci(=..g^ by the Sagamore and chief men, who prescribe and dictate 
what punishment shall be inflicted upon the guilty. A murderer, 
according to the statement of Neptune and Francis, is tied to a 
tree, and there shot to death by one of the captains. Sometimes 
his life is spared upon his engagement to support the wife, the chil- 
dren, or helpless relations of the slain ; yet doomed to be forever 
an outcast from the tribe. This and treason are the only crimes 
among them, punishable with death. If we may believe Capt. 
Francis, — " Indians seldom steal from Indians ;" yet if one 
should be guilty of theft, Neptune says, he is tied fast to a tree 
and whipped till he confesses, and brings forth what he has stolen. 
Quarrels among them and batteries are not uncommon. An- 
tagonists never strike. They clinch, and then struggle furiously 
to throw each other upon the ground ; when the victor seizes the 
hair of his fallen adversary, wrenches and twists his neck violent- 
ly ; and sometimes wuth his heel, gives repeated blows in his face. 
This is oftentimes done even in the view, and witii the approba- 
tion, of the chief men, when they are convinced of the sufferer's 
villainy. 

If female continency and chastity, be seldom solicited or vio- 
lated, there have been instances of lascivious intercourse, attend- 
ed with fearful evils. An affair of this character, a few years 
since, happened at a chief's camp, or hunting wigwam in the for- 
est, between his wife and an under chief, when the husband was 
absent. The shrewd native, suspecting the crime, made her con- 
fess it, and then forgave her ; determining to wreak his venge- 
ance only on the adulterer. Once they met and strove to take 
each other's life, in a combat with knives ; nor were they 
without great difficulty separated. These transactions occurring, 
while the two men were at the head of the Tarratine tribe, have 
divided it into dire parties, who are not yet reconciled. 

Revenge is fully justified, as the Indians believe, in this class 
ot offences ; and should the blood of the criminal be spilt by the 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 5( 

avenser, its voice could never reach the ear of the tribe. A a. d. 16 

. , . .to 1675. 

birtli without a marriage was never known to occur, except in a onvnccs 
very few instances, where the putative father is a white man ; and ""'^ •■***" 
then the mother's former female associates subsequently avoid 
her society. Some, however, suppose this causes more resent- 
ment than disgrace. A Frenchman, as we are told, belonging to 
the company of de Monts, used a freedom with the daughter of 
an Openango Sagamore, in 1603; which eventuated in the man- 
ifest appearances of her unchastity. The ardent stranger was 
willing to marry the fair native, and she was enamored with him ; 
but her father objected, till the foreigner had evinced superior 
skill in taking game or salmon. 

Among the natives, the law of retaliation is considered a dic- 
tate of nature, always justifiable. The vile, they think, are de- 
tered from the commission of crimes through the perpetual fear 
of the avenger, if they transgress. An Indian was never known 
to seek redress through the medium of our laws and courts, for 
any injury done him by one of his tribe. Nor was there an in- 
stance, till quite lately, where a white man ever sued an Indian 
in a civil action. But prosecutions have frequently been instituted 
at law upon complaints, both of the Englishman and the Indian, 
for crimes committed by either against the other. 

The trial and story of Peol Susup, so much in point, may be Susup's 
related. About sunset, June 28, 1816, this Indian's turbulence trial, 
and noise, in the tavern of William Knight, at Bangor, became 
intolerable ; and the inn-keeper thrust him out at the door, and 
endeavored to drive him away. The Indian, instantly turning in 
a great rage, pursued him to the steps, with a drawn knife, and 
gave him a deep wound, just below his shoulderblade, of which 
he presently died. 

On his arrest, Susup frankly said, — ' I have killed Knight — 
' and I ought to die : — but I was in liquor ; and he abused me ; ^ 
' or 1 never had done it.' 

After an imprisonment till the June term of the Supreme Ju- 
dicial Court, at Castine, the subsequent year ; he was arraigned 
on an indictment for murder, to which he pleaded not guilty* 

* IManj' of his own tribe, anil several from St. Johns and Passamaquoddj-, 
attended the trial. Among' ethers, Susup's wife and four or five children ^ 
— Neptune gave his counsel 30 half dollars. 



12 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

D. 1615, A day was consumed in the trial, amidst a concourse, which 
crowded the meeting-house ; and, according to the position urged 
'• by his counsel,* the verdict was " manslaughter." 

The Court then said to him — Susup, have you any thing noiu 
to say for yourself ? — ' John Neptune,' said he, ' will speak for 
' me :' — That Indian then stepped forward from the midst of his 
associates, towards the Judges, and deliberately addressed them 
in an impressive speech of several minutes. He spake in broken 
English, yet every word was distinctly heard and easily under- 
stood. His gestures were frequent and forcible ; his manner 
solemn ; and a breathless silence pervaded the whole assembly. — 
He began — You know, your people do my Indians great deal of 
wrong. — They abuse them very much ; yes, they murder them ; 
then they walk right off- — nobody touches them. This makes my 
heart burn. Well, then my Indians say, we'll go kill your very 
bad and wicked men. JVo, I tell 'em, never do that thing; we 
are brothers. — Sometime ago a very bad man-\ about Boston^ 
shot an Indian dead ; — yoiLr people said, surely he should die ; 
hut it was not so. — In the great prison-house he eats and lives to 
this day ; certain he never dies for killing Indian. My brothers 
say, let that bloody man go free ; — Peol Susup too. So we wish 
— hope fills the hearts of us all. — Peace is good. These, my 
Indians, love it well : they smile under its shade. The white 
men and red men must be always friends ; — the Great Spirit is 
our Father ; — / speak what I feel. 

Susup was sentenced to another year's imprisonment ; and re- 
quired to find sureties for keeping the peace two years, in the 
penal sum of $500 ; when John Neptune, and 'Squire Jo Merry 
Neptune, of his own tribe, Capt. Solmond, from Passamaquoddy, 
and Capt. Jo Tomer, from the river St. John, became his sure- 
ties in the recognizance. 

An Indian has few inducements to industry. Like the wretch- 
ed drones in civilized society, he considers labor beneath his 
dignity ; and with him, time is esteemed of small value. What 
necessity or inclination urges him to undertake in seasons of 

* Mellen and Williamson for the prisoner. — For the government, D, 
Davis, Solicitor General. 

t He alluded to one Livermore, who had received sentence of death for 
killing an Indian ; which was commuted to hard labor for life in the State'* 
prison. 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 5 

peace, is leisurely done : for though lie is never quiet, en inert A. D^ i 

...... • . '" 1G75, 

life is in his estimation the boon of earthly happiness. 

The principal employments of the men are hunting and fishing. Huminc 
In the former, they discover great skill and dexterity. On the 
arrival of the Europeans, the natives used wooden traps ; and 
an expert bowman, it is said, could, with his arrows, do execution 
at the distance of forty yards.* Sometimes the young hunter 
would shroud himself in the skin of a moose or other animal, and 
creep towards the herd, imitating their looks and motions, till 
a favorable moment offered, when he would shoot the decoyed 
game, and dropping the disguise, run it down and secure it. For 
the purpose of taking a herd of deer, two or three hundred men 
have been known to form an association ; wherein by surround- 
ing the animals with fires, posting themselves at well-chosen 
passes, and raising an alarm by hideous yells, tliey were enabled 
to kill great numbers. Oftentimes, one party would drive them to 
narrow points of land, or into a river, amidst an ambush, that 
would rise and kill them. The time for duck hunting was in the 
month of August, when the flocks had shed their quills and 
feathers, and their young were fledged insufficiently to fly. Ac- 
cording to the account given of an instance by Mr. Penhallow, 
A. D. 1717, the Indians drove them in such numbers into creeks 
as to be able with their paddles and billets of wood only, to kill 
4,600 at one time ; disposing of hundreds to the English at a 
penny by the dozen. f 

Birds were taken with snares, or shot with arrows. The fish 
were caught either by hook and line, by entangling them in wears, 
by dipping with scoop-nets, or by striking them with spears. The 
fish lines and nets were constructed of deer's sinews, the bark of 
trees, or tough grass, spun into threads between the hands and 
teeth ; the hooks were bones grated to a point and bearded. The 
remains of Indian wears, constructed with large stones, are still 
extant in great Ossipee river. 

The lazy habits of the natives incline them to travel as much ,^, . 

•' ^ rheir r 

as possible by water. Their craft or boats are of two kinds. One "f»> '"ge 
is formed out of a large log excavated, 40 feet in length — the 
inside being burned and then smoothed by a stone gouge. The 
other is constructed of birchen bark, so light, that an Indian 

♦Smith's Hist. p. 32. f 1 Coll. N. Hamp. Hist. Soc. p. 90. 



34 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

D- 1C15, turning it upside down, can travel with it some miles upon his 
head : yet it will carry six men, and the other about forty. Their 
axe was formerly made of a fine grained stone, and used by means 
of a helve, fastened to the pole by a withe. The chisel and 
gouge were made of the same stone, the one straight and the other 
curved at the edge. Their arrow heads and spears, were made 
of flint, or the hardest stone, and shaped like the point of a two 
edged sword ; the former from two to three, and the latter from 
four to ten inches in length. A most curious article is the stone 
pendant, shaped like a pear. In length, it is three inches and a 
half, and four and a half around the bulb. It is too hea\'y for 
the ears, too clumsy and ill-shapen for a bosom ornament, and 
yet too much wrought for any minor use. It has been many 
times shown to the Indians of different tribes for an exposition of 
its use, without obtaining any satisfactory information. 
leir Their ancient weapons of war were only four or five, the war- 

apons. pI^^I^^ jj-jg staff, the lance, the bow and arrows and the target. 

The war-club, was made of the root or branch of a tree, with 
a knot at the end, for the purpose of fatal batteries in close en- 
gagement. The staff or stake, resembling an espontoon, was an 
elastic pole, 8 or 10 feet in length, hardened by fire at one end, 
and designed to parry the enemy, or strike him at short distances. 
A much more bloody and fatal weapon, was the lance. It re- 
sembled the pickaxe, and was formed by inserting near one end 
of a short hand-staff, at right angles, a deer's horn, or a long 
stone sharpened at each end ; or it was a kind of pike sharply 
pointed whh flint or bone.* By this, the fighter could fatall}^ at- 
tack his foe, or shield himself from return-blows. The bow and 
arrow were of great use both in war and hunting. The bow was 
made of the toughest elastic wood, 8 or 10 feet in length. It 
was only bent when used to twang the arrows ; and then, like that 
of Ulysses, it required no feeble arm to bend it. An old English 
hunter assures me, he has seen a bowman shoot at short distan- 
ces with the precision and effect of a rifle-man. The target was 
a shield, or breastplate, not extensively used. The tomahawk 
and scalping knife, which strike the minds of the English with 
so much horror, are sharp-edged weapons, of iron and steel, 



* Smith's History, p. 31. — Indian Wars, (anon.) p. 272 



Chap, xix.] of Maine. 50, 

which have come into use among the Indians, since their acquaint- A. D. igi, 
ance with the Europeans. 

They enter upon war with the utmost deliberation. The Sag- Their war 

. . . _ . , . (are. 

amore meets his Indian warriors in council ; a great fire is kin- 
dled ; and he addresses the assemblage fully upon the important 
subject. Becoming acquainted with their determination, he takes 
up a circuitous march, while he sings a war song ; endeavoring 
to arouse and kindle their patriotic ardor to the greatest height. 
In war, a largess of services, among the Abenaques and Tarra- 
tines, is tendered to their Sagamores ; but among the Mickmaks, 
the Sagamore being more absolute, levied a kind of tribute upon 
his people, at pleasure."* — The fortifications of the natives were 
asylums merely, for old men, women and children, surrounded 
by palisadoes without bastions, where they tarried when the 
warriors were absent. It was not their policy to face the enemy 
in the open field ; but in skulking, stratagem and ambush, they dis- 
played their superior arts of war. They choose by stealth to 
wind their way under the covert of darkness, within shot of their 
foe, when their leader, at break of day, gives the signal, by a 
faint hollow shout ; and the whole body instantly raising a most 
frightful war-whoop, and rushing upon their enemies witli the 
usual yell, ho ! ho ! ho ! — scalp and kill after all resistance ceases. 
In victory or success, they exult extravagantly, in dances, feasts 
and shouts of triumph. They fight for the public good, without 
remuneration ; — scalps, booty, trophies, and a return without loss, 
constituting the glory of the expedition. 

But wealth with them is of inconsiderable value, except for Thrir 
present use. They are no misers — though precious metals are Wampara, 
their most valued ornaments. Their wigwams are mere shelters, 
and nothing more. All in their estimation, which give worth to 
their lands, are their hunting grounds ; some small patches for cul- 
ture, and, since the arrival of the Europeans, the timber of the 
forests and other spontaneous productions of nature. The trade 
with them has consisted in a barter of furs and peltries, at " truck 
houses" and forts, established and regulated by laws. They 
never had any other domestic animals than dogs ;f no several 

* Jeffreys, p. 66, 80. — Indian Wars, (anon.) p. 269. 

t Wolf-dogs are said to be the offspring of the fox and the wolf.— 2 Belk. 
Biog. p. 130—1. The Indians bad no domestic fowls.— 1 Coll. Mast. Hist. 
Soc. p. 213. 

Vol. I. 51 



506 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1615, property, whicli was not portable in every situation and move- 

iol675. , '• m, • 

ment; and no money except wampam.'^ Inis was an article 
wrought out of shells, found upon the coasts of New-England 
and V'irginia, and formed into beads, — all of a vivid color re- 
sembling pearls. Each " eye," or bead, was of a cylindrical form, 
about one 4th of an inch in length, smaller than a pipe-stem, and 
fluted through the centre, large enough to receive a strong thread. 
They were of two varieties, the white and the hlack or violet : 
the former was double in value ot the latter, and rated at a 
farthing apiece, — now at a cent; and both, in 1G43, were by a 
colony law made a tender, in all debts under 40 shillings. Ten 
thousand of these beads are not unfrequently wrought into a 
single belt, four inches in width, and from two to three feet in 
length. Wampam is with Indians, the pearl of great pjice. It 
is interwoven into every part of their better dress ; it is their 
money ; it is used as an interchange or token of the highest re- 
spect. 
Ffiasts. The natives have their songs of war, of sociality, and of wor- 

ship. But none of their usages are more general, than their 
feasts and dances on special occasions, such as war, victory, 
peace, marriage, and social meetings. In the war-dance, and it is 
believed, in that of victory, the females being the devotees of 
peace, never take a part : otherwise they are as fond of this 
amusement and exercise, as the other sex. 

Samuel Champlain was present at an entertainment, in true 
native style, A. D. 1603, attended by the Algonquins, Eteche- 
mins, and Mountaineers ;f — the particulars of which give a fair 
specimen of similar scenes. The Algonquin Sagamore, Ama- 
dabison, who made the feast, took his seat between two pei'pen- 
dicular poles, on which were suspended their enemies' heads 
taken in war ; and all the guests were seated around next the 
walls of the great cabin, armed with a kind of hard-wood spear, 
or dirk. To amuse the company, a young Indian took his dog, 
and, flourishing around the boiling kettles of venison, seven or 
eight in number, danced from one to another of the attendants, 
and when coming to the Sagamore, he gave the dog a twirl upon 
his back, and retook his place. He was followed by others 



■* Wampampcagf. — Prince, p. 173. 

fPurchns, p, 933 — 936. — The men only shout. 



Chap, xix.] of maine. 50' 

equally expert in the same feats. All with festive mirth partook a D^ien 
of the repast ; and afterwards some told stories, others sang, and 
several danced, with their enemies' heads in their hands. The 
Indians of Amadabison then arranged and seated before him, 
" their women and maids, in ranks ;" who suddenly sprang up, as 
the men stood singing behind them, and casting off their man- 
tles of fur and other articles of dress, except their beads, sang 
and danced till quite exhausted ; — when, the whole in concert 
shouted, he ! he ! he ! — and resumed their mantles and their seats. 
After a short respite, the Sagamore arose and addressed the 
Etechemins and JMountaineers, urging them to partake in the 
festal and social joy; when suddenly the whole company repeated 
loudly the same shout ; — every one, divesting himself of his 
mantle, or outer garment, joined in tlie general dance ; the guests, 
at the close, seizing something at hand, such as beads, flesh, or 
other article, and presenting it to the Aigonquins. The entertain- 
ment was closed with foot-races, in which two of each nation 
were competitors ; the victors being rewarded with presents. 

The principal amusements of the natives are dancing ;* foot- Amuse- 
races ; wrestling ; quoits ; chequers ; and among the boys, bat 
and ball. In summer, when the weather is fair and warm, both 
sexes bathe daily. At chequers, the older Indians are so expert, 
as boldly to challenge the most skilful white men to the game. 
Smoking tobacco is another habit and amusement, to which both 
sexes are strongly attached. Among familiar friends, the lighted 
pipe sometimes passes around, from one to another, like a cup of 
drink ; each taking a few whifs, in general conviviality. The 
calumetf is the pipe of peace. Its boll is usually made of a soft 
reddish stone ; and its stem, about two feet in length, is of the 
hardest wood, oftentimes curiously ornamented. To smoke from 
it is proverbial of mutual friendship and peace. Like the seal 
to a contract, or the sanction of a promise ; — it is used as a pledge 
of fiiith and fidelity — and ever considered sacred. 

The manners of the Indians are such as might be expected ; Their man- 
being the untutored — the unpolished children of nature. They 
always enter a house without knocking, if the door be unfastened, 
and take seats without being requested. Nay, it was not unusual, 

* Oldmixon, p. 15. — He says tlie females are particularly fond of dancing, 
t 5 Charlevoix, p. 311, 397, 426, 437. 



508 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol. I. 



A D. 1613, in earlier times, when they wished to warm, or be sheltered from 
the storm, to burst in the bolted door of the white man, at any 
hour in the night, and tarry until it was their pleasure to depart. 
On meeting, they nod the head, are very fond of shaking hands, 
and prefer to be saluted with the endearing appellations, or names, 
of brother or sister.^ The Indians seldom, in token of respect, 
uncover their heads, or remove their hats or caps, except in times 
of religious worship. What renders their visits less irksome, is 
the haste they commonly manifest; though they have no particular 
object of pursuit. Not many of them can speak English well 
enough to be readily understood ; and they are, with a few excep- 
tions, f never very frank to converse, or to communicate any facts 
concerning their tribe. Both sexes, so far as they fall under the 
observation of the English, are truly the patterns of modesty ; 
and instances of violence, offered to females or children are sel- 
dom known. 

Names given or assumed among them, as among the ancient 
Hebrews, are significant of some event, incident, or interesting 
object in nature. The child inherits no name of its parents, nor 
does a woman change hers when she marries. They are fond 
of titles ; and Indian warriors are sometimes rewarded, like Ro- 
man heroes, by new or appendant names, expressive of their 
achievements. 

Past events are celebrated in song ; the tablets of memory are 
their only records ; and intellectual improvement is never an ob- 
ject of Indian solicitude. One can hardly conceive of a people 
more destitute of what the enlightened parts of the world would 
deem necessary to society and the comforts of life. A few sim- 
ple implements of daily use, a few weapons of war, a few articles 
of apparel, are the principal specimens of their ingenuity. They 



Names. 



Improve- 
ments. 



* That is, ' qua neccheer,'' how do jon do, my brother ? 

j Aitteon, tlic chief, cannot speak English with facilitj' ; biit John JSTep- 
tune and Capt. Francis can pronounce the langnage pretty freely — and 
both are communicative and intellig-ent. Neptune has the high cheek 
bones, the copper color, the large muscular frame, indeed, all the features 
and appearance of the true Indian race. But Francis is supposed to be a 
descendant of Castine or some other Frenchman. He is less of stature, 
more talkative, and more smiling than most others. English Mary was so 
called because of her beauty, her correct language, and her amiable man- 
ners. The awkwardness of her sisters has been known in some instance* 
to be a great mortification to her. 



Chap, xix.] OF Maine. 509 

are entire strangers to the education, which imbues the mind a d. i616, 
with moral and rehgious principles, and fills it with knowledge, 
— which refines the sentiments and affections, and polishes the 
manners. 

Their genius is principally mechanical; and they have some Art« and 
little taste for the fine arts.* A few specimens of their sculpture "'"'''^* 
in stone and wood, are striking miniature-resemblances of men, 
beasts, birds and fish. In Wells, has been found a long stone 
pesde, the end of which has the form of a " serpent's head," 
well imitated. They sketcli, with considerable ingenuity, the pic- 
tures of animals, upon different substances, — sometimes upon 
their vessels and the bolls of their pipes. f As an emblem of the 
devices in heraldry, the Indian's signature always resembles some 
animal, which he selects, and adopts, and never changes. The 
natives, especially the females, hav^e good voices and an ear for 
music. According to an account in Pring's Voyage, A. D. 1603, 
they danced excessively, around a youth of the crew, playing 
upon a guitar. Some Indians will play tolerably upon a violin ; 
and ill their great dances, the time is kept by a light beat 
upon a drum, usually accompanied by a vocal tune. Their war 
songs are solos, with tones of voice rough and harsh ; their 
carols are more musical ; and their church chantings, in modern 
times, are imitative of the catholic forms of praise. f 

The natives have ascertained the true qualities of many herbs, iMedicai 
plants, barks and roots; and prescribe remedies for every mala- "°"^ ^*' 
dy with which the human body is attacked. Fevers are cured 
by sweating the patient in a close wigwam, whh the steam of wa- 
ter, raised by means of heated stones, and then plunging him 
into a cold bath. Blisters are raised by certain kinds of bark, 
bound upon the skin. Sores are cured by warm medicaments ; 
agues, by hot vegetable steam ; spasms and pleurisies, by sudo- 
rifics ; and diarrhcea by astringents. 

In these practices, and in some useful arts, we have been the 



• Smith's Hist. p. 240.— He says, among- these Eastern Tribes, "their 
■" arts, <^aines, music, attire and burials," differ little from those in Virginia. 

f They paint their faces, though witliout much taste or skill. — 1 Coll. J\l. 
Hist. Soc. p. 61. 

X A specimen of Mickmak music. — Tamija, alle-luya, lamija (lore- 
vem,hau, hau, he., he ; — the two last notes were repeated by the whole com- 
pany in grand chorus. — Oldmixon, p. 23-4. 



610 THE HISTORY [VoL. I , 

A.D.1G15, copyists of the Indians. We have learned from them, to form 
£^„ii^,,' iij,. and use the scoop net; the cylindrical baskets, for eel-fishery; 
itaiioiis oi ^^^ snow shoes, or rackets, in winter travellins: ; to lure and catch 

llie Indians. ° ' 

fish by torchlight ; to preserve vegetables from frost by burying 
them in the sand ; meat from taint by putting it into snow, or dry- 
ing it in the smoke ; and to dress leather vrith the brains of ani- 
mals, so as to give it a peculiar pliancy and softness. Their 
homony consisted of corn broken in a mortar and boiled. Their 
samp was whole corn hulled by scalding water, a little impregna- 
ted with lie. Their nokehike was corn parched and pounded. 
Suckatash was composed of corn in the milk, and green beans — 
a very palatable dish. The broth of a boiled bass-head, thick- 
ened with homony, was called upaquontop. They taught us how 
we might heathfully repose with the feet to the fire, after expo- 
sure in the open air ; and how to raise maize, or Indian corn,* 
by manuring the soil with fish, planting it when the leaf of the 
white oak is " big as a mouse's ear," and hoing it in hills. To 
subdue a tree they bruised the bark at the surface of the earth, 
and scorched its roots with fire, till it would grow no more. They 
beat up and mellowed the ground with a stone or wooden hoe ; 
and planted four kernels of corn, and two beans in a hill ; and 
scattered among them pumpkins and squashes. 

The Indians have no schools; nor till the Europeans came 
among them, had they any idea of reading, writing, or arithmetic. 
Attempts have been often made to teach them letters ; and in 
the present age there are found among the eastern Indians several, 
who can read a little and write their names. But children un- 
disciplined at home, submit to school-government with great re- 
luctance. To mention an instance ; — the English teacher at 
Pleasant-point tells me, that because he gave an Indian scholar 
a blow over the shoulder with a bush, he leaped out at the window, 
and in a minute, there was not one remaining in the house, ex- 
cept the Instructer : when a sturdy brother of the Indian boy, 
forthwith rushed in, brandishing a drawn knife with violent men- 
aces. Parents have no ambition to have their children school- 
ed, and are unwilling to have them live in English families. f 

* Indian Corn, or " Maize" was called by the natives, " Wcachin." — D. 
JVear.s, JV. E. p. 569.— The Indians ate the " entrails of Moose, Deer, Bears, 
*< —and of fish, and snakes they were particularly fond." — H. TrumbulVs 
Indian Warn, p. 91. t Rev. Elijah Kellogg. 



Edacation. 



Chap. XIX.] of Maine. 511 

The thoughts of labor, restraint and discipline, fill them with ex-A.D. IG15, 
treme uneasiness and anxiety ; and they are always perplexed 
with fears, that the power of custom and fashion, might change 
the manners of their children and alienate them from the tribe. 

In the use of language, or arbitrary signs of ideas, the east- indinnlan- 
ern natives compare with all other human beings. They have*"'"^'^' 
their dialects, though no one tribe ever had an alphabet. To 
invent the signs of words, was an ingenious thought, which never 
entered their hearts ; and nothing mortal can be the subject of 
more perpetual change, than a language never written — never 
reduced to letters. 

All the dialects of the Abenaques and Etechcmins as previous- 
ly shewn,* possessed such an affinity and similarity, as enabled 
those of different tribes to converse together without difficulty.f 
Vocabularies as well as facts and circumstances confirm this truth. 
— One of these word-books, was compiled by Ralle, the French 
Jesuit, who lived among the Canibas Indians 26 years, posterior 
to 1693; J another by the Rev. Ammi R. Cutter, commander of 
the fort, and keeper of the trading house at Saco, subsequent to 
his dismissal from his charge at North-Yarmouth, A. D. 1 735 ; 
and a third, by Rev. Daniel Little, minister of Kennebunk, and 
missionary to the Etechemins, after the war of the revolution. 
These are all said to be preserved ;§ though that of Ralle, being 
in French orthography, is rather a book of curiosity than of 
use. II 

So far as the language of these natives has submitted to 
grammatical parts of speech, and the etymologies, inflexions, and 
combinations of words are known, it has many evident peculiari- 
ties. It has no article ; for a or an, they, like the Romans, use 
ont; and for ihc^ this or that. Nor have they any single word, 
by which to distinguish the gender of nouns or pronouns. The 
Tarratines say, JVeaA, /; Kenh, thoic or you ; Ilechomah, he or 
5^6 ; JYeonah, we ; Acoumah, they. Their modes and tenses 

*£ec Ante, Chap. xvii. — 

I It was I'rom the natives, that the extensive region of Maine, received 
the name, Jlavooshcii, or JSlavcooshcn. — Purchas, p. 939. — 2 Belk. Biog. 
p. 149. — The Indians say, * tlie tribes, at the river St. John, and at Pas- 
Bamaquoddy, speak the same dialects.' 

I 7 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 254. — New Series. \ Sullivan, p. 265. 

jl Ralle's Vocabulary, in liibrary o( Harv. UnivcrsKy. 



512 THE HISTORY f'V^Il, 

A. D. 1615, are quite defective. Their inflexions of verbs to the p' jon^ are 
. |. . by prefixes, suffixes, and changes, thus : — JVemanche* ' loalk ; 
giiagcs. Keamounche, you walk ; Heckomah-mounches, he walks ; IVeou- 
nah-n^muchepowneak, we ivalk ; Aroumah-mauts-cheteck, they 
walk.f They never use adjectives in the degrees of compari- 
son ; — an Indian prefix, equivalent to very, being their qualifying 
term. Land they call keag ; to which they prefix other words, 
and form the names of their rivers. Fenops-Keag, means rock- 
land ; Cunds'-keag, leg-land ; MedawanC-keag, ripples or peb- 
bles-land. J 

* Ch has its proper sound always when used ; never like k. 

f In Mohes^an, J^^pumsch, I walk ; k''pumseh, thou or you walk ; premis- 
soo, he or she icalks. — Dr. Edwards. — In Openang-o. iMoonseh., I walk; 
L'mooseh, thou, he or she icalks ; JVunchenth, we or you walk; M'sa^-tech, 
they walk. 

J These might be indefinitely muUiplied. Passamaquoddy, in Indian 
orthography, is Pascodiim [pollock'^ oquon \_cakh''em great many'] keag' 
lland]. 

The manner of counting, and a few important words and expressions 
will show us the affinity and repugnance of different dialects. 



English. 


T^^RRATINE. 


MOHEGAN. 




Virginian. 


One, 


Fez-a-qun, 


IS'quet, 




Necut, 


Two, 


Neice, 


Neese, 




Ningh, 


Three, 


Noss, 


Nish, 




Nuff, 


Four, 


Yeaou, 


Yoh, 




Yowgh, 


Five, 


Polenes-q, 


Napanna, 




Paranske, 


Six, 


Nequitence, 


Qmitta, 




Comotinch, 


Seven, 


Tombowcnce, 


Edana, 




Toppawoss, 


Eight. 


Sonsuck, 


Shwosnck, 




Nusswash, 


Nine, 


Nour-lee', 


Paskiigit, 




Kehatawgh, 


Ten, 


Medaira, 


Pruck. 




Kaskeke.; 


Eleven, 


Nogudouncow, 








Twelve, 


Neice-uncow, 








Twenty, 


Nes-ins-ca, 




ViRG 


IMAN. 


One hundred 


Nogudatequa, 


Necuttoug 


htysinough, 


One thousand. 


Nogiidunqui 


INecuttwei 


jnquaough. 



Heaven, Spumkcag, Tarratinc ; — The heavens, Keesuck, Jilohegan ; 
Spemcnkako^iin, Algonquin. God, Chenee-wusque ; — Same among all 
the Etechemin /rite*. Father, Meetungiis, Tarraline. "Nosh, my father, 
Cosh, thy father, J\lohegan. Tiooch , my father ; Goocli, thy father, Del.; 
and Nousce, Algonquin. Boy, Skeenooses, Tarraline ; Wuskeene, Mohe- 
gan ; Pilawetschitsch, Delaware. A man (a) Sannmbee, Tarraline; N'nin, 

(a^ Mickmak, Kessona ; Virginian, Ncmarough, [a man]. " One white 
man," is expressed in the Tarratinc language by " Ouanooch;— White 
man's shoes, by " Ou-a-nooch-wank-seh-nah ;" — and how do you do .' by 



Ck .joV^^lX-l OF MAINE. 513 

Inaie first endeavors to pronounce the world English, they a. D. I6I6, 
uttered t e sound, " Yeneees," whence is the term Yankees * , ,. '. 

' . Indian iBtf 

The similarity apparent in the dialects of our three Etechemln g"«ge. 
tribes, though great, is not without many discrepancies. For in- 
stance, among the Tarratines, chh-ee is yes ; aun'tah, no. But 
among the Openangos, and Marechites, choh, is used for yes ; 
and scaud, for 710 or 7iot.-f 

To resolve, or analyze a language, is an exercise, requiring 
long and deep reflection, critical knowledge, and profound logic J 
of which the natives have not, in regard to either, the most distant 
notions. Their dialects were the dictates of nature. Letters, 
grammar, composition and style, were subjects among them, 
which admit of no improvement. Their language, in appearance 
when written, resembles short hand, or laconic phrases.J Many 
of their words are long ; one answering for several in the English 
tongue. The sounds of some vowels in the alphabet, are often 



Jilohegan ; Alisinapc, Algonquin ; Leno, Delaware. Brother, Neecheen, 
Tarratine ; 'S\s3ir\]cli, Algonquin ; Skinetch, Jlickmak. Sun, Keezoose^ 
Tarrutinc ; Kecf-is, Algonquin ; Keeso\]gh, Mohegan. Fire, Squitta, Tar' 
ratine; ^coute, Algonquin ; FockatawcT, f^irginian. Hair, Peersoo, Tar- 
raline ; Lissis, or Lissy, ^^/g-oji^um; MWzch, Delaware. 

* Heckewelder. 

j The Lord's prayer, in the Tarratine dialect follows, which Gapt. Francis, 
and Capt. Jo Delislos and others agree in sayingf, is very much so ex- 
pressed by the Indians at St. John's and Passamaquoddy. Metunk*senah, 

our Father ; Ouwa'ne, who is there ; spum'keag-aio, up in heaven ; kee*- 
nuck, adored be ; tle-we-seli*, thy name ; keah^-daber-dock, thy kingdom ; 
now-ilo'-seh, come ; keah^-olet-haut* ta-mon-a, thy will ; num-ah-zee', let it be 
done; m'se-tah'-mah, ore/- </ie u7ioZe ear<A ; t'hah-lah-wee"-keunah, like as; 
spum'keag-aio, up in heaven ; me-lca^-neh, give ; neo'nah, ut , ne-qucm- 
pe-bem-gees'o'coqiie, /o-f/ay; maje^me, every; gees'-cool, day; ar'-bon, 
bread; mus-see-a'tos*see, pordoji ; neo^nah, us; com-moonl*en-esk-s(»ck\ 
our trespasses; 't-hah-lah-wee'-keunah, //te as; num-e-se-comele'cnt, we 
forgave [pardon"] ; tah-hah'-la-we-u-kea)i-ma-chc-ke*-cheek, all wrong do- 
ers ; :i-c[nc-\\c>,Und usnot ; a-qne-ah-lah ke-ma-sM^ co(.\ue^ into temptation ; 
n'gah'ne, but; uuma.-zec\ deliver or take ; neo'nah, wj; neo^je,yrom; saw'- 
got, evil things ; woo-saw'-me, because; keah-dabeld'-ock, the kingdom; 
ego-mah\ is ; keel-o-ah', thine ; noa'chee, the power ; done-ali'le, and [also] ; 
s&zoos'', glory ; nesh^lets, forever ; quos^-que, amen. 

J There are some vestiges of hieroglyphics, among the Mickraaks and 
some other tribes. — Sargent and Barton, p. 19. 

Pah-que-num-se-eld\ The Mohawks, to avoid closing the lips, when talk- 
ing, say, for amen, nwen. — Dr. Edwards, p. 10. 
Vol. I. 52 



514 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D, 1615, repeated ; others and several of our consonants are quite rarely 
, ,. ,' used. Their accentuation, contrary to the Endish rule and 

Indian Ian- • i r 

guage. usage, is thrown as far as possible from the first syllable ; yet 
their emphasis and cadences are natural, easy and forcible. 

Unacquainted with literature and the arts, their language is far 
from being copious. Like that of other nations, its adaptation 
is to their wants, their employments, and manners. But it has 
strength ; it is simple and lofty ; and in sound, it is soft and 
grateful to the ear. So easy is it of utterance, in their mouths j 
that though many of their words are not pronounced by the English, 
without difficulty and exertion, the natives speak the longest and 
hardest of them, with a careless and even a graceful facility. 

Their expressions are pertinent, and their sentiments full of 
reason and good sense. To supply the want of words, they 
make a free and appropriate use of similes and other figures of 
speech ; which give to their addresses, on special occasions, a 
peculiar originality and boldness.* They are sometmies eloquent. 
Their gestures are frequent and forcible, and their modulations 
of voice are correspondent to their sentiments. 

* Mr. Manach, a French priest, who lived among the Mickmaks 40 years, 
or more, prior to 1763, learned their language and declared himself quite 
enamored with its beauties. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 515 



CHAPTER XX. 

^Cing Philijys war — The Eastern Sagamores — Causes of the war — 
The house of Mr. Purchas robbed — Wakejield's family de- 
stroyed — Skirmish at Neio-3Ieadows — Attack on Saro — Scai-- 
borough burnt — Wincoln's expedition to Saco — Disasters at iVieic- 
ichawannock — Forts at Sagadahock — The Indians in that quar- 
ter disturbed — Pacified by Mr. Shurtc — An erpedition eastward — 
Bloody skirmish at Ncwichaioannock — Plaisted and his sons kill- 
ed — Attack on Sturgeon-creek and Wells — Affairs of the war — 
A truce — General warrants — A parley at Teconnet — Casco and 
Arrowsick laid waste — Pemaquid burnt — Troops at Dover — The 
sham fight — Casco revived and Fort Loyal founded — Cape Ned- 
dick destroyed — Saco fort surrenders — Mugg's treaty — War re- 
newed — Waldron's and Frost's expedition to Marc-point — Saga- 
dahock and Pemaquid — Skirmishes — Smart engagement at Black- 
point — Vessels captured — Peace — Losses. 

The first open hostilities between the eastern inhabitants and ^ ^^ 1575, 
the natives, were commenced in the celebrated kins: Philip's war. 

June 24. 

It broke out in the colony of Plymouth, June 24, 1675 j* and Kingpiiii- 
' within twenty days, the fire began to kindle in these easterly '^' 

* It will be recollected, that at this period, the towns and plantations 
within the present State of Maine, were thirteen: — 1. Kiftery, Including 
all the settlements on the north-eastern banks of the Piscataqiia, — New- 
ichawannock river, and Quainpegan falls [S. Berwick], and on Salmon Fall 
river [Berwick]. 2. York, including' Cape Neddick. .3. JP'ells. 4. Cape 
Porpoise. 5. Saco, on both sides of the river. 6. Scarborough, viz. Black- 
point east, and Blue-point west. 7. Falmouth, including the peninsula, 
[Portland], Spurwink and Purpooduck [Cape Elizabeth], and Stroudwater 
[VVestbrook]. 8, Pejcpscot settlement southerly of the Lower Falls in the 
Androscog-g-in, and at Maqiioit, 4 miles distant, on the margin of Casco 
bay. — [See anlc, 1642.] — 9. The plantations upon the Sagadahock ?i.nA Ken- 
ncbeck, including Cushnoc, and Arrowsick. 10. Shccpscot and Cape- 
newagcn. 11. Damariscolta, or J^ew-Dartmouth [New-Castle], and the 
DamariscoTC Islands. 12. Pemaquid. 13. Monhegan, Gorges'' Islands, 
and the opposite settlements upon the Main. The country between Penob- 
scot and Passamaquoddy, now in possession of the French [since 1667-8], 
exhibited only a few habitations at Penobscot, Mount Desert, Machias 
and Schoodic. 



516 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1675. < parts, though distant 250 miles.'* The English population of 
Indian Sa-'- Maine at this period, probably exceeded 6,000 souls ;f and that 
sroores, q[ ^\^q Abenaques and Etechemins, it is believed, was twice, if 
not thrice that number. 

The character and conduct of the Sagamores in this emergen- 
cy, reflect considerable light upon the war itself. Wonnolancet 
the eldest son and successor of the famous Passaconaway, was 
now chief of the Penacooks ; and he resolved to observe re- 
ligiously bis father's counsel and take no part in the quarrel. 
Wholly to avoid the storm, therefore, he withdrew to places re- 
mote, and unknown to the colonists ; and his example was fol- 
lowed by the most of his tribe, who abandoned their homes, and 
sought safety and quiet in the heart of the distant desert.J At 
the head of the Newichawannook tribe was Blind Will, who was 
a believer in the prophetic communications of Rowles, his prede- 
cessor, and greatly perplexed with a presentiment, that the tribes 
would ultimately be exterminated. He therefore entered the 
English service, in which he continued about two years to his 
death. He has been accused of duplicity, in his professions of 
friendship and respect for the colonists j it being supposed, he 
inwardly hated them.§ 

One of the most peculiar men of this age was Squando, Saga- 
more of the Sokokis. He possessed great strength of mind, his 
manners were grave, and his address impressive. In the super- 
stitious devotions of the Indians, he was a leader and enthusiast. 
He made them believe, he had intercourse with the spirits of 
the invisible world, who imparted to him revelations of future 
events. An angel of light, said he, ' has commanded me to wor- 

* ship the Great Spirit, and to forbear hunting and laboring on 
' the Sabbath ; and God himself tells me, he has left the English 

* people to be destroyed by the Indians.' A man of such rare 
knowledge and abilities necessarily acquired great influence among 
other tribes, as well as unlimited ascendancy over his own. His 
conduct towards the settlers was full of change, being alternately 
humane and malevolent. || 

* 2 Math. Magnal. p. 499.— Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 300. 
t Jilafher, in 2 JIagnaL p. 499, says, ' there were at this lime many fine 
pcttlemt'nts ii» Maine and Cornwall. 

I Hub. Indian Wars, p. 68—110—329. ^ 1 Belle. N. H. p. 119—125. 
jl Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 862—389—391, 



Chap, xx.] of maine. 617 

The Anasagunticook Sagamore was Tarumkin^ — a man ofA.D.ii673. 
less intellect and less weight of character. Strongly attached to j^^ ^.^^ g^^_ 
his country, and jealous of its rights, he foresaw the advantages amores. 
of union, and always acted in concert with other Abenaques 
chieftains, both in war and peace. His great friend, Robinhood, 
who was principal Sagamore of the Canibas tribe, made pre- 
tensions of reluctance to take arms in this war ; and celebrated 
the settlement of a subsequent difficulty in a carousal and great 
dance. But Hopehood, his son, was a young warrior, who pant- 
ed for glory ; and the tribe became active in the war, before it 
closed.* 

Another celebrated chief of his time was Madockawando, 
the adopted son of the great prince and orator, Assiminasqua, 
and present Sagamore of the Tarratines. He was a man of 
great sagacity, " grave and serious in his speech and carriage," 
and like Squando, pretended to have ' supernatural visions and 
revelations.' His daughter is supposed to have been the wife 
of Castine, who was then engaged in a profitable traffic with the 
tribe, which he was unwilling to have interrupted ; and the 
Sagamore himself, unmolested by the English, in the enjoyment 
of his possessions, could perceive no inducements to join in the 
war. His principal minister was Miigg, who, by living in Eng- Mugg, 
fish families, had become acquainted with their language and 
habits, and qualified to negotiate with the colonial authorhies. 

This war has been ascribed to various causes. It has been causes ©j 
represented with some spleen as well as truth, that the English ''^^ ^^^'^' 
were the aggressors. The generous treatment and welcome they 
first received from the natives had been repaid, as accusers say, by 
kidnapping their benefactors, by disturbing their hunting grounds 
and fisheries, and by ' a shameful mismanagement of the fur and 
*peltry trade. 'f In the gradual encroachments of the white peo- 
ple, the Indians foresaw the danger of being totally exiled from 
their native country. They complained of impositions ; — for in- 
stance, an Anasagunticook said, 'he had probably given £100, 
' for water drawn out of Purchas' well.'J 

To nothing European were the natives more passionately at- 
tached, than the hunting gun ; as it afforded them the necessary 



* Hubbard's Indim Wars, p. 302— 347— 3<>5— 386. 

t 2 Math. Magnalia, p. 493—9. J Snppt. to Philip's War. p.'77. 



;jlj^ THE HTSTORV [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1675. means of procuring a subsistence. Still, they said, ' the English 
' refused to sell them firearms and ammunition, though they 
' were at times ready to starve and perish ; whereas the French 
' were free and cheerful to supply them with whatever they wish- 
' ed.' Nay, the Sagamores knew the English looked upon them 
and their tribes with a distrustful eye, and considered them as an 
inferior order of beings ; while they themselves believed, the 
Great Spirit, who gave them existence, had also given them ab- 
solute rights in the country of their birth, and the land of their 
fathers. Many traditional stories of injuries they had received, 
were recollected, [for Indians never forget,] and often rehearsed 
in a manner calculated to arouse and inflame their resentments. 
The Indians Though England and France were at this period in close alli- 
fusoient." ance, the Indians had obtained of the French traders , in Canada 
and at Penobscot, a supply of arms and ammunition, and had gen- 
erally become acquainted with the use of them. These greatly 
emboldened their courage and revenge,^ and hastened them to 
acts of hostility. On their return from hunting, in the spring of 
1675, their insolence was peculiar, and their violent conduct ex- 
cited fearful apprehensions. They took into custody several set- 
tlers, about Piscataqua, and then set them at liberty through a 
pretence of friendship, though really in consequence of the pres- 
ents made to them. 
E.istcrn In these appearances of rupture, the General Court appointed 

of war. Captains Lake, Patteshall, and Wiswell, at Sagadahock, ' a com- 
' mittee, and entrusted them with the general superintendence 
' and military power over the eastern parts.' The court also 
gave them directions to furnish themselves with all necessary 
munitions of war, for the common defence, and to sell neither 
gun, knife, powder nor lead, to any other Indians, than those 
whose friendship was fully known.* 
Hostilities When the news of king Philip's war reached York, July 1 1 , 
commenced. ^^^^^ ^j^^ colouy of Plymouth, Henry Sawyer, one of the towns- 
men despatched a messenger to Sagadahock, with the alarming 
inteUigence. In his letter, he mentioned the expedient proposed, 
of taking from the Indians, along the coast, their firearms and 
ammunition. Immediately the committee of war met upon the 
subject, at the house of IVlr. Patteshall, attended by several of 

*4 Mass. Rcc. p. 29.— Huh. Indian Wars, p. 301. 



Chap. XX.] of maime. 51! 

the settlers ; and Mr. Walker, a trader at Sheepscot, induced a A. D. ic? 
part of the Indians about him, to surrender their guns and 
knives. 

To ascertain more fully, the true disposition of the natives, a 
party of volunteers proceeded up the Kennebeck river, and pres- 
ently met with live Anasagunticooks, and seven of the Canibas 
tribe, all of whom came in and delivered their arms. Amidst the 
conversation however, one Sowen, a Canibas Indian, struck at 
Hosea Mallet, a by-stander, and could hardly be prevented from 
taking his life. The assailant was instantly seized and confined 
in a cellar. The Indians confessed his crime deserved death, yet 
requested his discharge ; offering a ransom of 40 beaver skins 
for his release, and several hostages for his future good behav- 
ior ; — all giving their hands in pledge of their sincerity. The 
proposal was accepted, and Sowen was released. — To secure 
their future friendship and fidelity, Capt. Lake then refreshed 
them with the best of victuals, supplied them with tobacco, and 
repeated to them the most solemn promises of protection and 
favor, if they would continue peaceable and quiet. This was the 
occasion of the great dance mentioned, which Robinhood made 
the next day, when he celebrated the peace with songs and shouts. 

But the far-famed Squando,* who had Ions; cherish.cd a bitter Squando's 

^ . ^ nfiioiit. 

antipathy towards the English, had recently been affronted, in a 
manner which greatly provoked his resentment. As his squaw 
was passing along the river Saco in a canoe, with her infant child, 
she was accosted by several rude sailors, who having heard that 
the Indian children could swim as naturally as the young of irra- 
tional animals, approached her, and in a fit of inconsiderate humor, 
overset the canoe to try the experiment. The child sank, and 
though the mother, diving, brought it up alive, it soon after died ; 
and the parents imputed its death to the ill-treatment received. 
So highly did this exasperate Squando, that he resolved to use 
all his arts and influence to arouse and inflame the Indians against 
the settlers. 

News of hostilities in the colony of Plymouth, f widiout doubt, 
greatly encouraged him in his malevolent schemes and embolden- 



* Hubbard's Indian Wars, [>. 330-!. 

t In Philij)"s war, it is said there were :S,00() ligiiters, " exclusive of the 
eastern Indians.'' — L Tnaiibvirs Conn. p. :J50. 



520 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A' D. 1673. ed his friends. The Anasagunticooks had conceived a great 
The house gyersion to Thomas Purchas, who had dwelt at the head of 

of Purchas 

plundered. Stevens' river, two leagues below Brunswick falls, thirty or forty 
years ; and by trading with them had acquired a large estate. 
Though he had courted their friendship, and in 1639, had put 
himself and possessions under the protection of Massachusetts, 
he was the earliest eastern sufferer in the war. 
Sept. 5ih. On the 4th or 5th of September, a party of twenf' Indians, 
among whom were the hostages that had a few weeks before 
escaped from the English, came to the house of Purchas, and 
began a parley with his wife, under pretence of trade. But as 
soon as they ascertained that her husband and sons were absent, 
they threw aside the disguise, and hastened to rob the house ; 
taking such weapons, ammunition and hquor as they could find, 
killing a calf and several sheep near the door, and making them- 
selves merry with the booty. In the midst of the scene a son of 
Purchas suddenly returning home, on horseback, was an eyewit- 
ness of the mischief. To interpose was unsafe, — therefore, when 
discovered, he fled for his Hfe ; being pursued closely an hundred 
rods, by a sturdy fleet-footed Indian, with a gun secreted under 
his blanket. The assailants offered no personal violence to the 
people of the house, but told them — ' others vi'ould soon come 
and treat them worse.' 
Thefotttii-^' There dwelt at Presumpscot-river in Falmouth, one Thomas 
wlifefieid Wakely, an old man, with his family consisting of nine persons.* 
Sept'.^is'^' Unsuspecting evil, and remote from neighbors, they were attack- 
ed by the savages, September 12 ;f when several were killed, 
viz. the old man and his wife, his son John and wife, and three of 
their children, — two made captives, — and the house reduced to 
ashes. The flames and smoke brought to the place^^from Casco 
neck, Lieut. George Ingersoll, and a mihtary party, too late, how- 
ever, to do more than see the ruins and relics of this ill-fated 
family. The body of the aged man, the fire had half consumed. 

The only remains of his wife and son were their bones burnt 

to cinder. His daughter-in-law, near confinement, was pierced 



* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 305.— They removed hither from Cape Ann,, 
in 16G1 ; liis daughter was the wife of Matthew Coe, the names of his son* 
were, Jolin and Isaac. 

t .S'u//jwm, p. 199, supposes it was in July. But it was after Purchas" 
house was plundered.— //«&. Indian fVars, p. 303—5. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 521 

and mangled in a mannieAoo horrid to be described ; and three A. i). 1675. 
of her children, whose brains had been beaten out, were partly 
hidden under some oaken plank.* The other, if surviving and 
made a captive, probably soon sunk into the arms of death, 
through fatigue and want, nothing afterwards being heard bf the 
little sufferer. Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Mr. Wake- 
ly, about 1 1 years old, was carried into captivity. Full of an- 
guish and fears, the distressed girl was compelled to take up a 
long and tidious march with these murderers of the family ; hav- 
ing nothing but the warmth of the season to mitigate her woes, 
amidst the hunger, fatigue, and most painful recollections, 
which attended her steps all the way through a gloomy wilder- 
ness. Once she went as far south as Narragansett ; and this indu- 
ced a supposition, that some of these savages might be from that 
quarter. However, in June, after a captivity of nine months, she 
had the inexpressible joy of being restored to Major Waldron, 
at Cocheco ; Squando, to his great honor, being her deliverer ; — 
a Sagamore whose conduct exhibited at different times such traits 
of cruelty and compassion, as rendered his character difficult to 
be portrayed. After this a son of Lieut. Ingersoll was killed, and 
his house and those of his neighbors burnt^ 

The Indians, having thus began the war, and been guilty of ^-^e ski?- 
shedding the first blood in it, now dispersed themselves in small ^gtaiead- 
parties through the country, from Piscataqua to Androscoggin j "^'^ '"'**''■ 
improving every chance to rob and murder the people in the 
scattered unguarded settlements of Maine. The English, on the 
other hand, turned their attention to the places first attacked. A 
party of twenty-five proceeded in a sloop and two boats, to the 
head of New-Meadows or Stevens' river, in the neighborhood of 
Mr. Purcbas ; where they found an equal or greater number of 
Indians rifling the houses of the settlers. In their endeavors 
to attain the ground between the savages and the woods, they 
aroused three spies ; one ran towards the river and was shot to' 
the ground ;■ another fled across a branch of water in a canoe, 
wounded ; and the third escaped to the woods unhurt, shouting 
an alarm. Yet the Indians, instead of flying or advancing, cow^ 



*It seems this event happened at the house of John Wakely, who lived 
on the easterly side of Presumpscot river, where the parents were then- 
visiting or residing. 

Vol. I. 53 



522 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1675. ered down and watched the movements of the English, while 
gathering the corn and loading their boats : then suddenly spring- 
ing up, and at the same time, raising their usual yell, ho ! ho ! 
ho ! rushed forward, wounded several in their retreat to the 
sloop, and carried off the boat-loads of corn with triumphant 
shouts. This was to the English a most unfortunate incident ; 
the savages afterwards being more fatally bent on mischief and 
revenge. 
Attack on The next attack was Saturday morning, September 18, upon 
Sept. 18. the dwellinghouses of John Bonylhon and Maj. William Phillips, 
at Saco. That of the former stood on the eastern side of the 
river, half a mile south of the Lower Falls, and 60 rods from the 
water; the other was on the opposite side, near the present 
bridge ; and both of them had been tolerably fortified.* A So- 
kokis native, friendly to Bonython, came to his house and pri- 
vately said to him, — ' a strange Indian, from the westward, and 

* several Anasagunticooks of my acquaintance have been at my 
'wigwam, persuading all our brothers to lift the tomahawk against 

* the white people ; and they will soon come back from the east 

* with many more.' The story alarmed Bonython, and induced 
him to spread the report, and forthwith to retire with the settlers 
and their families to the house of Maj. Phillips, which was better 
garrisoned. Their suspension was short ; — they being the same, 
or the next day, eyewitnesses to Bonython's house in flames, 
while a sentinel espied a lurking Indian under the fence. 

Assault on As Phillips turned from the view, at his chamber-window, he 
Major Phil- was wounded in the shoulder by an Indian marksman, and must 
have been killed, had he retained his position. The ambuscade 
about the house, supposing him slain, gave a savage shout, and 
incautiously exposed themselves in sight. At this instant, they 
were fired upon from the house and flankers in all directions ; 
several were severely wounded, particularly their leader who 
was able to retreat only three or four miles, before he died. An 
hour's obstinate resistance, regardless of every proffer and every 
threat, convinced the assailants, that the place could not be car- 
ried except by stratagem. That they might therefore draw the 
men out of the fortification, or induce them to capitulate, they 
set fire to a tenant's slender habitation, and then to the mill ; ex- 



■* Sullivan, p. 221—321 



Chap, xx.] of MAINE. 523 

claiming, come now, you English coward dogs, come put out the A.Di ig76. 
Jire — if you dare. Both the artifice and challenge failing of suc- 
cess ; the firing was continued till the moon set, about four in the 
morning : when the savages taking a cart, hastily constructed a 
battery upon the axletree and forks of the spear forward of the 
wheels, to shelter them from the musquetry of the fort, and filled 
the body with birch-rinds, straw and fire-matches. This engine, 
they run backward widiin pistol shot of the garrison-house, in- 
tending to communicate to it by means of long poles, the flaming 
combustibles. But in passing a small gutter, one wheel stuck 
fast in the mud ; when a sudden turn was given to the vehicle, ex- 
posing the whole party to a fatal fire from the right flanker, which 
was quickly improved. Six fell and expired ; fifteen then and 
before were wounded ; and the survivors, about 60 in number, 
sick of the assault and mortified at the repulse, withdrew.* Dur- 
ing the siege, there were fifty persons in the house, of whom 
only ten were effective men, five others could do no more than 
partially assist, and one or two besides Maj. Phillips, were actu- 
ally wounded. 

Phillips, on Sunday, informed the settlement at Winter-harbor, 
called the town, of his exposed situation and distress ; telling 
them his ammunition was nearly exhausted, and his people were 
so much dismayed, that they would leave liira in a few days, 
unless timely succors prevented. But as none could be spared 
him, he removed to town on Tuesday, leaving his house un- 
occupied, which was, in about a fortnight, given to the flames by 
the infuriated savages. They also, soon after destroyed all the 
houses above Winter -harbor, and carried into captivity a Mrs. 
Hitchcock, who never returned. They said she ate in the win- 
ter, some poisonous root, instead of groundnuts, which killed her. 
About this time, they slew five travellers, overtaken by them upon 
the banks of Saco river. 

A party of the enemy, September 20th, f entered Scarbo- 
rough, and killed several at Blue-point ; a woman and six chil- rough burnt 
dren being among the sufferers. At Black-point, John Alger, 
lieutenant of the company, and his two companions in their ex- 

* Assailants were " computed at not less than an hundred." — FoUom't 
Saco and Biddeford, p. 155. 
f Sullivan, p. 215, says 1676, a misprint probably. 



i5^4 THE HiSTOjiy [Vol. i. 

A. p. 1675. cursion of discovery, were encountered by spies ; and in skir-f 
mishing with them, Alger received a mortal wound, and his 
brother Arthur was shot down soon after at the same place.* In 
the two settlements, twenty-seven houses lately inhabited, were 
burnt to the ground ; and probably a still greater number of fami- 
lies reduced to suffering and misery. About the same time, Am^ 
brose Boaden v/as killed, and Robert Jordan's house with its 
contents was consumed, at Spurwink. 

„„. , , To defend or relieve the distressed inhabitants of Saco, Capt» 

Wincoln s ' r ' 

(Bxpedition ^^incoln of ]N[ewichawannock, and sixteen volunteers, proceeded 

(i(j Sato. _ J . 7 r 

with exemplary valor and alertness, to the mouth of Winter-harbor, 
But unfortunately they were discovered by several prowling sav^ 
ages, who firing upon them killed two or three ; and then sounds- 
ed the alarm through the woods. Consequently, the brave band, 
while landing on the beach near that harbor, was met by 150 
Indians well armed and equiped, A warni skirmish ensued, in 
which Wincoln and his men, overpowered by numbers, retired 
and took shelter behind a pile of shingle bolts, Protected by 
this breastwork, they were enabled to fire with a precision so fa-f 
^al to their antagonists, as to induce them with the loss of several 
to leave |:he ground, f 

The report of the guns drew from the town a party of nine 
men, joined on the way by two more ; all of whom falling into 
an ambush, near the place where Wincoln was first attacked, 
were shot down in a single charge upon them, and presently ex-' 
pired, "f he enemy in the next place, marked the settlements 
about the Piscataqua for destruction j and in marching thither, 
killed several people in Wells. 

On the New-Hampshire side, at Oyster river, they burned the 
dwellinghouses of the Messrs. Chesleys, and five or siif others, 
Ifilled and carried into captivity four men, and, waylaying the 
^•oad bety/een Hampton and Exeter, shot down three passengers, 
pnd made another their prisoner. 

A-t Ne\ylchawannock [no\v South Berwick] the dwellinghouse 

* The Alg-ers, or Aug-ers, lived in Pupston parish ; they purchased 1000 
3.cres in ISjOttI, of ji Sagamore ; Arthur dying' childless, John, a son of Lt, 
John, inherited the propertj', and transmitted it to five daughters, one of 
VFhom, married Jolm Milliken, who purchased out other heirs — and hence 
^h,e '^ .Milliken Claim." | riubbard's Indian Wars, p. 310, 323-4. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 625 

of John Tozier, 1 50 rods above the garrison* and mills at Sal- A. u. 1675. 
nion Falls, was at this time, a frontier habitation. He himself, p^^'g^tg*, ^^ 
and the iTjen of his neighborhood, were absent with Wincoln : Newicha- 
having left his household unguarded, consisting of fifteen persons, 
who were all women and children. Against his family an attack 
was led on by one Andrew of Saco, and Hopehood of Kenne- 
beck, two of the boldest warriors in their tribes. Their ap- 
proach was first discovered by a young girl of eighteen, who 
shut the door and held it fast, till it was cut in pieces with their 
hatchets, and the family had escaped. Madly disappointed in 
finding the house empty, some of the savages inflicted repeated 
blows upon the heroic maid, till she was apparently expiring ; and 
the rest, in pursuit of the family, overtook two of the children ;-^ 
.one, three years old, being too young to travel, they at once 
dispatched, and the other they took and kept with them six 
ynonths. The young heroine revived after their departure, and 
repairing to the garrison, she was healed of her wounds and lived 
piany years. Her name, if known, would adorn the brightest 
page of history. 

A larger party, the next day, set fire to the dwellinghouse and s«pt.25, 
buildings of Capt. Wincoln, which were standing near the upper 
mills, and reduced them and their contents to ashes ; one of his 
barns containing more than 100 bushels of corn. The incendi- 
aries were followed closely till night by the men from the garri- 
son, who exchanged with them several shots ; the darkness put- 
thig an end to the pursuit. In the morning, they appeared on 
the western shore, and fired several guns across the main river 
at the laborers in the mill ; then shewing themselves more con- 
spicuously at twilight, were heard to utter loudly, many insolent 
speeches, calling the people " English dogs," and " cowards." 

In returning eastward, w'e find great exertions had been Affairs a* 
employed to keep the Indians quiet, and likewise to for- ho^cIT'^^' 
tify the people against their attacks. On the easterly bank of 
Sagadahock, at Stinson's point [in Woolwich,] Richard Ham^ 
mond had erected a trading house and fortification ; and, two 
miles distant,f upon Arrowsick, not far from the present meeting- 
house in Georgetown, Clark and Lake had built another, which 
was stronger and considerably larger. They had ^Iso in the 



* Tliis was in the parish of Unit}-, in Kittcry— 5;^//. p. 2i3--l. 
j 1 Hutchinson's History, p. 311. 



526 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1675. vicinity a mansion-house, mills, out-buildings, and cultivated fields j 
and over their whole establishment they had appointed Capt. Syl- 
vanus Davis their resident and general agent. They had, besides, 
a trading house in the neighborhood of the Indian fort, at Tecon- 
net-falls ; — whither the Canibas Indians had retired with their 
families, receiving supplies principally from that house, and shew- 
ing no symptoms of rupture, till after the burning of Scarborough.* 
Imprudence In the great excitement against the Indians, many people acted 
tiers. with shameful indiscretion ; threatening with violence some of the 

most benevolent promoters of peace, and accusing others of sell- 
ing, for the sake of gain, firearms and ammunition to kill their 
neighbors. Nay, the Monhegan Islanders offered a bounty of 
£5, for every Indian's head, that should be brought to them. 
Jeaiousiesof The jealousies of the Indians were daily increasing ; — to allay 
the Indians, ^rj^jch, and to bring home the guns, powder and other articles from 
the trading house near Teconnet-falls, Capt. Davis sent a mes- 
senger, charging him to assure them all, if they would remove 
and live near him, down the river, they should be furnished with 
every supply needed, at the fairest prices. But, either to over- 
awe them, or to do mischief, the messenger violated his instruc- 
tions, and told them, ' if they did not go down and give up their 
• arms, the Englishmen would come and kill them.' This so 
alarmed their fears that they presently forsook their fort ; and 
going to Penobscot, sent a runner to the other two Etechemin tribes, 
requesting them to meet in council, at the peninsular residence of 
Baron St. Castine : — Possibly he himself was the instigator of 
the measure. 
, But Abraham Shurte, chief magistrate of the plantation at 

Shurle's _ ' o r ^ 

truce wiih Pemaquid, who was a man of cood sense, and well acquainted 

the Indians, i ^ o a 

with the Indian character, left no efforts unessayed, till he had 
succeeded in having a parley with the disaffected Sagamores ; for 
which purpose they were persuaded to meet him at his own vil- 
lage. In this interview, he said to them, — ' I have urged our 
' committee of war to issue orders, forbidding every body to 
' harm or even threaten a peaceable Indian ; — being determined 
' to see all the wrongs you have suffered, fully redressed.' — The 
discussion resulted in a truce, by w^hich they engaged to live in 
peace with the English, and to prevent, if possible, the Anasa- 



* Hubb.irJ's Indian Wars, p. 341, 352.— Sullivan, p. 31, 169, 173. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 527 

gunticooks from committing any more depredations, either vponA.D. 1675. 
the settlers or traders. 

An uniform perseverance in these conciliatory measures, it was Mmsurcs of 

' •' government. 

believed, might revive and secure the amity of the natives; and 
therefore, in October, the General Court, acquainted witii their 
dispositions and circumstances, ordered monies to be disburs- 
ed from the public treasury, for the relief of those Indians who 
would become the subjects or allies of the colony ; and appointed 
Major Richard Waldron of Dover, and Capt. Nicholas Shapleigh 
of Kittery, to negotiate a treaty with the friendly tribes, upon 
terms congenial to their wishes. The Court also directed the 
eastern trading houses to be discontinue d ; and made provision 
for an expedition into JMaine, — to be prepared under the purvey- 
ance of iMaj. Clark. A vessel was therefore procured, and laden 
with military stores and provisions ; having also on board, when 
she sailed from Boston, a force of fifty soldiers, commanded by 
Lieut. Scottow.* It was a gloomy autumn ; and on account of 
the public calamities, a day of fasting and prayer, Oct. 7, was 
observed throughout Massachusetts and Maine. 

On that day a man was shot from his horse, in Ncwichawan- ^ewuha- 
nock, and soon died ; and two youngsters, a mile off, experienced "j'ain^at- 
the same fate. From these were taken their guns and upper gar- '^^ 
ments.f Indeed, tliis ill-fated settlement seemed to be more 
than any other, the object of savage vengeance and utter destruc- 
tion. Saturday, Oct. IG, about a hundred Indians assailed the 
house of Richard Tozier, killed him and carried his son into cap- 
tivity. Lieut. Roger Plaisted, the commander of the garrison, 
who was an officer of true courage, and a man of public spirit, 
having a partial view of the massacre, about 150 rods distant, 
despatched nine of his best men to reconnoiter the movements of 
the enemy, who falling into an ambush, three were shot down, 
and the others with difficulty effected their escape alive. 

A letterj addressed unto two gentlemen at Cocheco, [Dover] 
communicates the distresses of the place. 

" Salmon Falls, Oct. 16, 1675. 

" To Mr. Richard Waldron and Lieut. Coffin These are 

"to inform you, that the Indians are just now engaging us with at 



* 4 Mass. Rec. p. 49, 66. f Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 318. 

J Sullivan, p. 249. 



528 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1675. " least one hundred men, and have slain four of our men already, 
« — Richard Tozier, James Barrey, Isaac Bottes, and Tozier's 
" son ; and burnt Benoni Hodsdon's house. Sirs, if ever yoy 
*' have any love for us and the country, now shew yourselves with 
'* men to help us, or else we are all in great danger to be slain, 
" unless our God wonderfully appears for our deliverance. They 
" that cannot fight^ let them pray. Nothing else, but rest yours 
" to serve.— " Roger Plaisted. 

" George Broughton." 
To bring in for interment, the bodies of his slain companions, 
Plaisted ordered out a team, and led twenty of his men into the 
field. Placing first in the cart, the body of Tozier, which was 
most remote, they returned to take the others ; when a party of 
150 savages, rising behind a stone wall amidst logs and bushes, 
fired a well-aimed volley upon the soldiers, and pursued the as-^ 
sault. The oxen took fright and ran to the garrison. The en- 
gagement instantly became fierce, though unequal. Plaisted and 
his men withdrew a few paces, to a more eligible spot of ground, 
and being greatly overmatched by numbers, the most of them 
returned. But he, disdaining either to fly or yield, though urged 
again and again to surrender, fought with desperate courage, till 
literally hewed down by the enemy's hatchets. A fellow soldier 
and Plaisted's oldest son, unwiUing to leave the intrepid man, 

Vj^^^ ?*" , soudit their retreat too late and were slain. Another son, a few 

Plaisted and o ... 

hissoHs. weeks after, died of his wounds: — Such being the fate of this 
Spartan family- — whose intrepidity deserves a monument more 
durable than marble. The father had represented Kittery four 
years in the General Court, and was highly respected for his un- 
common valor, worth, and piety. He and his sons were buri- 
ed on his own land, near the battle ground, lull in view from the 
highway, leading through Berwick ; whose lettered tombstone 
tells succeeding ages, — " JYear this place lies buried the body oj 
" Roger Plaisted, who was killed by the Indians, Oct. 16, 1675, 
" aged 48 years : — Also the body of his son Roger Plaisted, who 
" was killed at the same time.* 

Before the Indians left the neighborhood, they set fire to three 
houses, two barns, and a mill, belonging to Mr. Hutchinson of 
Boston; and then proceeded to Sturgeon-creek, where they 



* Sullivan, p. 250. 



Chap, xx.] op maine. 529 

burned a dvvellinghouse and killed two men. In this hamlet, the a. d. 1675. 
house of Capt. Frost,* beino; a little remote from neiirhbors and 'V'^^'^"^"'' 
unfortified, was marked out by them for destruction. He was at <'*-"»-■ '^• 
a short distance from it when attacked, and narrowly escaped the 
fatal effect of ten shots aimed at him, ere he entered his door. 
There were only three boys with him in the house, yet he had 
the forethought and prudence to give out audible words of com- 
mand, as if a body of soldiers was with him ; — load quick ! fire 
there ! thafs well ! hrave men ! — A stratagem which saved them- 
selves and the house. 

The next day, on the eastern beach opposite to Portsmouth 
battery, the Indians killed a iiouseholder ; and while plundering 
and setting fire to his habitation, the terror i)f a cannon shot dis- 
persed them. They made a precipitate retreat, yet by means of 
a light snow just fallen, they were tracked into the wilderness, 
and overtaken near a great swamp, into which they threw them- 
selves, leaving their packs and plunder to tlieir pursuers. 

The last acts of bloodshed and mischief, committed in Maine i),.prpda- 
this season by the savages, were at Wells. Here they killed Mr. \x^ii^^ 
Cross, Isaac Cousins and the servant-man of William Symonds, 
whose house also they reduced to ashes. Being a man of influ- 
ence, he was an object of their greater vengeance ; but fortu- 
nately, before this, he had removed his family to the garrison, 
which was in the more compact part of the town. 

The prominent actors in this year's war were the Sokokis, the ^frairs of 
Anasagunticooks, and a part of the Canibas tribe ; and never did '''*^ ^^^''' 
the wars carried on by the clans of the northern hive against the 
Romans, partake of a more predatory character. Within the 
short period of three months, the settlements between Piscataqua 
and Kennebeck sustained a loss of eightyf lives, a large number 
of dwellinghouses and of domestic animals, and an unknown 
amount of other property. The savages had every advantage. 
They had no buildings to lose — no fields to be destroyed : — They 
were actuated by desires of revenge and rapine ; they fought for 
plunder ; and they were gratified. As tenants of the wilderness, 
they traversed the rugged country with facility — appalled at no 
privations ; for hunger, fatigue and hardships were their habits of 



* Afterwards Major Frost. 

t Hubbard say*," fifty;" — hut by actual enumeration eighly. 
Vol. I 54 



530 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A, D. 1675. life. Unequalled by the inhabitants in numbers, they chose their 
time, place and manner of attack ; though, as they afterwards 
acknowledged, their loss of men was twice that of the white 
people. Business was suspended. Every individual was seek- 
ing for his own safety and the security of his family ; the pro- 
ductions of the earth were not gathered ; dwellinghouses were 
deserted ; and men, women and children were huddled together 
in small garrisons, or the larger houses, fortified by timber-walls 
and flankers ; — generally constructed with sentry-boxes upon the 
roofs, and guarded by watchmen day and night. 

To subdue the Indians in their fastnesses, or winter-quarters, 
into which it was supposed they were retiring, at Pegwacket, Os- 
sipee, and Pejepscot ; the General Court ordered considerable de- 
tachments to be detailed from the New-Hampshire and Yorkshire 
regiments, and gave the command to popular and meritorious of- 
ficers. But the soldiers were not prepared to march till the 1 0th 
of December, at which time the snow had fallen to the depth of 
four feet upon a level ; and they, being unfurnished with snow- 
shoes, could not travel a day's journey into the woods without 
great hazard of their lives j — therefore the enterprize was aban- 
doned.* 

A truce. No eveut, as it proved, could have had a happier tendency; 

for the Indians, having been diverted from their ordinary pursuits, 
had no provisions on hand, nor means of buying them, — their 
ammunition and plunder were consumed, — the snow was too deep 
for hunting, — and they perceived, that without peace, they must 
suffer extreme famine. The Sagamores therefore requested of 
the Commissioners, Messrs. Waldron and Shapleigh, an armistice, 
and then entered into a treaty for " the whole body of Indians 
eastward ;"f engaging to be the submissive subjects of the gov- 
ernment, and to surrender all captives without ransom. These 
were happily from time to time restored, and their lives saved. 

The dying embers of war, kept smothered through seven 
succeeding months, might never have been disturbed, had the 
people, uninfluenced by private gains, and personal animosities, 
been governed by maxims of exact justice and prudence. 



* About twenty families removed from Saco, Falmoiitli, and the nrig-h- 
borhood, to Salcrn. 

fTliis could include only tlie Indians from Tiscataqna to Casco. — Hub- 
harcTs Indian Wars, p. 346. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 631 

But during the winter the community was filled with whispers A. D. 1676. 
and jealousies. The eastern traders were charged in Boston with 
selling to the Indians firearms and ammunition ; when it was 
provable, they were procured of the French. It was also re- 
ported, that the Sagamores and their confidents were engaged 
in a deep conspiracy against the inhabitants ; and so fully was 
this believed, that Major Waldron was induced to issue general q^^^^^^^ 
warrants for seizing every Indian known to be a manslayer, marrams, 
traitor or conspirator. 

These precepts, which afforded every man a plausible pretext Indian kid 
to seize suspected savages, were obtained by several shipmasters "^PP**"* 
for the most shameful purposes. One with his vessel lurked 
about the shores of Pemaquid, when Mr. Shurte, acquainted 
with his errand, importunately entreated him to depart; assuring 
him, the English and the natives in the vicinity, were in a state of 
profound peace, and warning the Indians likewise to beware of 
his wiles. Yet he treacherously caught several, — and carrying 
them into foreign parts, sold them for slaves.* Another, by 
the name of Laughlin, with one of Mr, Waldron's warrants, 
seized several Mickmaks at Cape Sable, for the same wretched 
purpose. These people, who had hitherto been altogether dis- 
tinct and separate from the other eastern tribes, were in this 
manner provoked, to make the injuries done the natives a com- 
mon cause of resentment. 

Greatly incensed by these fresh and unprovoked affronts, the Complaints 
Indians complained to Mr. Shurte, whose sincerity and kind of- dian's* 
fices had won their confidence ; stating that many of their bro- 
thers were missing, — possibly miserable slaves in foreign lands. 
' Yes, (added they,) and your people frightened us away last fall 
' from our cornfields about Kennebeck, — ^you have since with- 
' holden powder and shot from us ; so that we have been unable 
* to kill either fowl or venison, and some of our Indians, too, the 
' last winter, actually perished of hunger.' 

To conciliate them and preserve their temper, Mr. Shurte told 
them, that their friends, if transported, should be returned to their 
homes, and the transgressors arrested and punished ; and that 
Maj. Waldron had entered into a happy peace with the Sokokis 
and other Indians, which might become general, provided tlie 

* Hub, Indian Wart, p. 332—344. 



532 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. !67G. Anasagiinticooks and the Canibas tribe would accede to it. 
Much gratified, apparently, with this parley, as they called it, 
they presented him with a belt of wampam in token of amity, 
delivered to him a captive boy, and, a short time after, sent a 
foot-post, or " runner" to him from Teconnet,* inviting him to 
» meet the Sagamores in council at that place. 
A parley at The committee, or council of war, whose advice he sought, 
'ieconnct. associated with him in the mission, Capt. Sylvanus Davis, and 
gave them instructions. On their arrival at Teconnet, the 
Indians saluted them by a discharge of guns ; and conducted 
them respectfully into the great wigwam, or camp, where they 
found seated Assiminasqua, Madockawando, Tarumkin, Hope- 
hood, Mugg and a large assemblage from their tribes. Squando, 
whose attendance, they were informed, was expected, had not yet 
arrived. 

Assiminasqua, their chief speaker, first addressed them : — - 
brothers, keep your arms, it is a point of honor. Be at liberty. 
It is not our custom, like J\lohawks, to seize the messengers coni^ 
ing unto us, J\''ay — certainly we never do, as your people once 
did with fourteen of our Indians, sent to treat with you ; taking 
aivay their guns and setting a guard over their heads. — We now 
must tell you, lue. have been in deep luaters.'—You told us to come 
down and give up our arms and powder, or you would kill us. 
So to keep peace, we were forced to part with our hunting gU7is ; 
or to leave both our fort and our corn. What we did, teas a 
great loss — we feel its weight, 

' Our reply to you,' said the agents, 'is good. Our men, v.ho 
'have done you wrong, are always greatly blamed. Could they 
' be reached by the arm of our rulers, they would be punished. 
' All the Indians know how kindly they have been treated at 

* Pemaquid. We come now to confirm the peace, especially to 
' treat with the Anasagunticooks. We wish to see Squando, f 

* and to hear Tarumkin speak. 

He then remarked : — / have been westward, where I found 
three Sagamores, wishing for peace ; — many Indians unwilling. 
I love the clear streams of friendship, that meet and unite. Cer- 
tain, I myself, choose the shades of peace. My heart is true ; 

* SulUvanj, p. 171. — Hereabouts were evidences of ' ancient settle- 
menlE,' \ Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 340, 



Chap. xx.J of waink. 533 

and I give you my hand in pledge of the truth. — Seven of his a.d. icts 
tribe, also Hopehood and Mugg, oflered the same token of their 
sincerity. Had Squando been present, Shurtc and Davis might 
have effected a treaty with the Anasagunticooks. But Madocka- 
wando, becoming impatient of the distrust and jealousy, which 
the agents discovered, enquired : — Do we not meet here on equal 
ground 9 Where shall we huy powder and shot for our winter^s 
hunting, when we have eaten up all our corn'? Shall ive leave 
Englishmen and apply to the French ? or let our Indians die ? 
fVe have waited long to hear you tell us, and now we want, yes ! 
or no ! 

' You may,' said the Agents, ' have ammunition for necessary 

* use ; but you say yourselves, there are many western Indians, 
' who do not choose peace. Should you let them have the pow- 
' der we sell you, \v\mt do we, better than cut our own throats? — 

* This is the best answer we are allowed to return you, though 

* you ivait ten years.' 

The reply gave an unfortunate turn to the parley or negotia- 
tion. The chiefs taking umbrage, declined any further talk; 
and the Agents returned home,* apprehending a speedy renewal 
of hostilities. 

The death of King Philip, August 12, 16TG, which occasion- Ueaih of 
ed a jubilee among the colonists of his vicinity, was an event in Aug. 12. 
its consequences, truly calamitous to the eastern people. His 
surviving most notorious adherents, strolling away, dispersed '^"' |"'''<^' 
themselves among the Penacooks and Abenaques. Though their Maiue. 
language was radically the same, and some of them could speak 
English, they were easily distinguished by their dialect, and the 
cut of their hair. The maddened passions of these visitors or 
emigrants, were in correspondent tone with those of Squando. 
He took fresh courage. His angel, without doubt, revealed to 
him anew, the utter destruction of the English ; and he was im- 
patient to see the work renewed. 

Three of the most noted fugitives, who had taken or acquired Anf^rew, 

° ' ■» >imon and 

the English names, of Simon, Andrew and Peter, escaping to I'^'er. 
Merrimack river, a short time before the downfall of their prince, 
killed one Thomas Kimball, an inhabitant tbere, and took captive 
his wife and five children. They then endeavored to conceal 



* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 3.11- 



534 THE HISIORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1G76. themselves among the Penacooks, who had been neutrals in the 
war. But as they were murderers, undeserving hospitality, they 
were surrendered, — seized on one of Maj. Waldron's warrants, 
and closely confined at Dover, till July ; when they effected 
their escape, and went to Casco bay. They were all adepts in 
villainy and Simon, surnamed '• the yankee-killer," boasted, that 
he had shot at many a white man, and never failed but once of 
bringing his object to the ground.* 

„ , , Early in August, he made himself familiar at the house 

People kill- •' . . 

edaiCesco. of Anthony Brackett, an inhabitant of Back Cove, (Falmouth) 
who in a kw days after, lost one of his cows. — ' I can shew you,' 
said Simon, ' the fellows that killed the creature,' — and then went 
away. Suspecting his fidelity, Brackett and his neighbors des- 
patched two messengers to inform Major Waldron, at Dover, of 
the circumstance and their lears. But before their return, a party 
of savages came to Brackett's, August 11, led by Simon, who 
exclaimed, ' here are the Indians that took your cow,' and forth- 
with seizing all the weapons in sight, proceeded to bind Mr. 
Brackett, his wife, their five children, and a negro servant ; when 
her brother, Nathaniel Mitten, in resisting their violence, was in- 
stantly killed. Next they despatched with their tomahawks, his 
neighbors, Robert Corbin, Humphrey Durham, and Benjamin 
Atwell, residents at Presumpscot,f and hurried away their wives 
and families with the other prisoners, towards the water ; only 
Attack on One woman escaping with her children in a canoe. An alarm 
Au^'rii. was given by two men in a boat, who had fortunately escaped 
the shots aimed at them ; while two others, coming at this 
juncture to labor for Brackett, likewise fled away unhurt ; and the 
surviving inhabitants made a hasty retreat to Mountjoy's garrison 
on the hill. Another laborer, hiding in the bushes, was eye- 
witness to the death of Thomas Brackett, and the capture of his 
wife and children, he being killed near his own house, on the 
southerly side of the peninsula. 

At convenient times, Messrs. Pike, Wells, Lewis, Felt and the 
returning messengers, with others, aware of their exposure to 
certain death or captivity, if the fori were taken, took their re- 



* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 335, 344, 350. 

t They also shot John Mountjoy, son of George, and Isaac Wakely, on 
the Neck, as they crossed over to Purpoodic, and took James Ross, his 
wife and children prisoners. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 535 

spective families and removed to Andrews' or Bangs' Island, as a a. d. igtg. 
place of greater safety. Recollecting, however, the powder left in 
different places, the men associated, and, on the night of the 
13th, went and brought off about two barrels, and some other ar- 
ticles. The peninsula of Casco-neck was, during a subsequent 
period, wholly deserted ;* thirty-four persons being killed in this 
surprisal, or carried into captivity, f and a considerable property 
destroyed ; though most of the houses were left standing. J 

At the same time, August 13, a blow was struck at the life Jg^jroved' 
and possessions of Richard Hammond at Stinson's point [Wool- 
wich]. He had been for a long time a trader with the Indians j 
and they complained, (as they were wont to do), of his cheating 
them. Once, they said, he filled them with strong drink, and 
took away their furs from them by stealth. Remembering his 
offences, a vindictive party of them, visited the place, whose 
looks and airs so frightened a young maid, that she started to run 
away : — But an Indian brought her back, and told her she had 
nothing to fear. Still more terrified by the arrival of a larger 
number of them, she escaped and travelled over land ten miles 
to Sheepscot plantation, and told the story to the people there ; 
adding, that she heard, when at a distance from the house, a 
great bustle and heavy blows. It was true, the Indians, in the 
first onset, killed Samuel Smith, Joshua Grant, and also Ham- 
mond himself, setting fire to his house, and making sixteen per- 
sons, captives. 

Before the assailants started away, they divided themselves Arrowsick 
into two bands. One ascended the river, and took into custody 
Francis Card and his family ; the other proceeded by water, the 
same night, to Arrowsick, and landed in great silence on the 
south-easterly point of the Island, near the settlement and fort. 
A part of them cowered down under the walls of the garrison, 
and odiers secreted themselves behind a large adjoining rock ; — 
all being able to see every movement of the sentinel. As he retir- 
ed from his post, before the usual hour, without being relieved, 
he was unconsciously followed through the fort-gate by the sav- 
age-spies in quick succession ; who instantly closed the port-holes 

* Probably the inhabitants did not return generally till the peace in 
April, ]6'ii.— Willis, p, 152. f Namely, 12 men, 6 women, and 16 children. 
I Hubbard's Indian Wars, 339-IO-3f)9. 



536 THE iiisTOKY [Vol. i, 

A. D. ifi76, and assumed to be masters of the sarrison. Never, perhaps, 

Aii^. 14. . . 3^1' 

was consternation greater. The English and Indians fought hand 
to hand. Aroused from sleep, Capts. Lake, Davis, and others, 
soon finding resistance vain, fled through a back-door, and jump- 
ing into a canoe, strove to reach another Island. Overtaken, 
however, by their pursuers, just as they were stepping on shore,. 
Lake was killed by a musket-shot, and Davis so wounded that he 
could neither fight nor flee. Able now only to creep, he hid 
himself in a cleft of the rocks; and the beams of the rising sun, 
in the eyes of the assailants, prevented a discovery. Neverthe- 
less, two days elapsed before he could, even in a light canoe, 
paddle himself away to the chores of the main. 

About a dozen other persons, escaping to the further end of 
the Island, found means to get off in safety. Lake was an enter- 
prizing, and excellent man ;" and it is said, he would not have 
been killed, had he asked quarter, and not presented his pistol to 
his antagonist. So proud was the savage of his bloody exploit, 
that he took the hat of his fallen foe, and wore it as a trophy, upon 
his own head. The number killed and carried into captivity, was 
thirty-five persons. In the general conflagration, the whole of 
this large and beautiful establishment — the mansion-house, the 
fortification, the mills, and the out-buildings — collectively the 
works of years, and the cost of several thousand pounds, forming 
yesterday the hamlet of the Islands, exhibit to-day only a smoul- 
dering heap of ruins. 
Btacki-tt's News of the event rendered Simon and his bloody companions 
frm'iiy"es- impatient to be partakers of the spoils, or the glory of the siege ; 
*^''''^' and, therefore, as they were burdened with their prisoners, they 

left Anthony Brackett's wife and family — probably on Great Se- 
bascodegan. Here she fortunately found a leaky birchen canoe, 
in which, after sh.e had mended it, she and her negro servant, 
rowed them all safely to Black-point, from whence a vessel gave 
them a passage to Piscataqua. 
The people The inhabitants eastward of Arrowsick became now so much 
adahock'*'^' dismayed, that they durst no longer abide in their own houses. 
hianlL'^^ Those of Sheepscot, listening to the story of the fugitive girl, 
made an early retreat to the fort at Cape-newagen. The peo- 
ple of Pemaquid fled on board their vessels ; but being prevent- 

* Capt. fjakp was the ancestor, pnrhaps father, of Sir Biby Lake. 



Chap, xx.] of maim:. 537 

ed by reason of lisiht or adverse winds irom reachinc; Monhesan, a. d. 1676. 

J ^ . August. 

which they supposed to be an Island of the greatest safety upon 
the coast, they were under the necessity of going ashore upon 
one of the Damariscove Islands. Here, they met with Messrs. 
Callicot and Wiswell from Casco and Arrowsick ; and all of them 
labored incessantly for two days in constructing a fortification. 
However, as soon as they were favored with a northerly breeze, 
they abandoned this Island ; those two gentlemen sailing for Bos- 
ton, and the rest proceeding to Monhegan. The Islanders and 
refugees uniting there, appointed a watch of twenty-five men by 
night, and a sufficient guard by day, and agreed that no vessel 
should leave the harbor for a week, excepting a single one des- 
tined to go and bring away their household-furniture and effects 
from Pemaquid. Yet scarcely was the trip performed, before pemaquid 
they saw clouds of smoke arise over their burning village, also ^"'""'• 
flames of the houses at New-Harbor, at Corban's Sound and 
upon some of the Islands. Being shortly after informed, that no 
succors could be immediately expected from Boston, they quit 
the Island, and sailed for that town, Piscataqua and Salem. On 
their passage they visited one of the Damariscove Islands, where 
they found only the relics of recent destruction, — two dead 
bodies, the ashes and fragments of the buildings, and the carcasses 
of the cattle.* 

In one month, fifteen leagues of coast eastward of Casco Extent of 
neck, were laid waste. The inhabitants were either massacred, """"^^'^S"- 
carried into captivity, or driven to the Islands or remoter places, 
and the settlements abandoned or in ruins. The inhabitants had 
endured with fortitude a series of hardships many years, and 
those of the peninsula in particular, could not entertain the 
thought of altogether abandoning their homes and their all, to the ^ 
savage destroyers. Upon Mountjoy's Island, two leagues from 
the shore, was an old stone house which was easily made a shel- 
ter for a few of them ; and upon Jewel's Island, others fortified 
a house and made preparations for defending themselves. 

But the Indians, flushed with their successes, rushed upon this Attack on 
Island, Sept. 2, when the men were fishing, the women engag- island, 
ed in washing by the water side, and the children scattered 
about the shore. At first, a brave lad firing from the house, 



* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 351—4—360—390. 
Vol. I. 55 



638 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A D. 1676. killed two Indians, and thus gave the alarm. Mrs. Potts and 
several of her children were quickly seized, when one of them 
seeing his father coming in a boat, ran towards him, crying for 
help, — till caught by a savage, upon whom the father durst not 
fire, through fear of killing his child. One of the men rowed 
off his canoe towards Richmond Island for assistance, and the 
others with great intrepidity rushed into the midst of the Indians, 
and with the loss of tvi^o killed and five made captive, drove 
them to their canoes. The messenger, meeting witii a ketch, 
persuaded the master to go and relieve the distressed Islanders j 
and he finally removed them to places of more safety. The as- 
sailants proceeded to Spurwink, where they killed two and 
wounded others. 
Troops sent Amidst these alarming depredations, the General Court, hav- 
enemy' "'^ ^"S been Convened, ordered 200 men to be enlisted, under the 
command of Captains William Hawthorn, Joseph Sill, and J. 
Hunting, and directed Major Waldron, and Major Frost, to make 
detachments from their respective regiments, or otherwise recruit 
as many able-bodied men as could with prudence leave home ; 
and to despatch them with the colonial troops against the enemy. 
The force from Massachusetts, partly formed of refugees from 
Maine, who were anxious to return, consisted of 130 English and 
40 Natick Indians. They all arrived at Cocheco, (Dover) Sept. 
6 ; where they were met by the soldiery under Waldron and 
Frost. 
Mel at Do- At the samc place, about 400 Indians from different tribes 
ver, by400 aggembled ; some of whom were known to be malignant fugitives 

Indians. ' o o 

from the westward ; others had treacherously violated the stipula- 
tions of the treaty, made with them nine months before ; and all 
were acting in concert and friendship. As this assemblage was 
probably not requested, it was not expected ; and Waldron, who 
had authority to seize all Indian murderers and traitors, was in- 
volved in a difficult dilemma. Many of the English soldiers, en- 
raged at the recollection of savage cruelties, were impatient to fall 
upon them immediately and indiscriminately, with gun and bayo- 
net ; while he knew, that most of the Indians present were repos- 
ing the greatest confidence, both in his honor and fidelity. 

Waldron, therefore, suggested to the officers an expedient, 
which, though of an uncommon character, was adopted. He 
proposed, the next day, to the embodied Indians, to have a sham- 



Chap, xx.] of MAINE. 539 

fight, in which they were to manoeuvre on the one side, and the a.d. 1676. 
EneHsh on the other. Accordinelv the amusement was continu- i?^"'"'^"*' 

3 " •' the Indians, 

ed a short time, when Waldron induced them to fire a erand ^"^' '^'e "f 

' _ _ _ ° ihc ofleiid- 

round ; and the moment their guns were discharged, his troops crs. 
surrounded the unwary Indians, seized and disarmed them, with- 
out the loss of a man on either side. To divide them into classes, 
according to their guilt or innocence, was a far more difficult part 
of this undertaking. Wonnolancet and his tribe, all adherents to 
the English and all neutrals in the war, were discharged. The 
" strange Indians" from the westward, and every one who had 
been guilty of bloodshed or outrage since the treaty, about 200 
in all, were confined and conveyed to Boston. The Governor 
and Assistants constituted, at that time, the Supreme Court of 
the colony ; and all the prisoners who were convicted of having 
taken life, (being seven or eight,) suffered death ; and others re- 
ceiving the sentence of banishment, were transported and sold in 
foreign parts for slaves. 

The propriety of this unprecedented course was a subject, 
which divided the whole community ; some applauded, — some 
doubted, — some censured ; but the government approved. Wal- 
dron and Frost, with other officers, thought it their duty to obey 
their orders, which directed them to kill and destroy all hostile 
Indians ; and to submit the future destiny of the prisoners to the 
public authorities. It was believed, that those who were set at 
liberty might feel highly satisfied, and those transported would 
never be able to return. But the Indians thought this farce of 
a battle, a base Yankee trick, played off in direct violation of 
good faith ; which they would neither forget nor forgive. 

Next day, the troops, under the senior command of Capt. „ 
Hawthorn, piloted by Blind Will, Saeamore of the Newichawan- The troops 

' _ •' . proceed to 

nocks, and eight of his Indians, proceeded eastward by water ; Casco. 
and after visiting Wells, Winter-harbor, Black-point, and Spur- 
wink, disembarked, September 20th, upon the peninsula of Fal- 
mouth. They had taken on the way, only two prisoners, one of 
whom was killed and the other permitted by Blind Will's men, 
his keepers, to escape ; they probably intending that every princi- 
pal event should be communicated to the enemy. 

As some of the inhabitants belonging to Casco neck, probably Fort Lojai 
returned — they and the soldiery, proceeded to prepare the 



640 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A, D. 167G. foundations for a public garrison,* — to establish which, the Gen- 
eral Court had made some appropriations. The troops, engaged 
principally in searching for the enemy and in relieving or removing 
the settlers, tarried upwards of three weeks upon the peninsula ; 
during which a few instances only of depredations committed by 
the savages are noticed. By permission of Capt. Hawthorn, 
Event at September 23d, seven of the inhabitants visited Pvlountjoy's, or 
IsiamV"^ ^ Peak's Island, for the purpose of killing and dressing a few sheep, 
for the support of their families. While there, they were en- 
countered by an Indian party, and driven to the old stone house 
for shelter, in which they defended themselves with much valor, 
till, either by the guns of the enemy, or the stones tumbled upon 
them from the walls, they were all killed except one, who soon 
died of his wounds. Being heads of families and men of cour- 
age and activity, especially George Felt, they were greatly es- 
teemed and their deaths deeply lamented. 

A larger party, lurking about Wells, the next day, Sept. 24, 
shot from his horse James Gooch, as he was returning from pub- 
lic worship on the Lord's day; and his wife, who was on the 
same horse, was cut to pieces by them with their hatchets. 
Sept. 25. On the 25th, they destroyed the settlement at Cape Neddock,f 
dock c'e^- ' where forty persons were slain, or made the subjects of a vvretch- 
stro}e . ^^ captivity. This was a transaction, which bore some marks of 
uncommon barbarity. For instance, — after dashing out the brains 
of a nursing mother, they pinned her infant to her bosom and 
in this awful condition was the babe found alive, with one of the 
paps in its mouth. J Again they entered Wells, and killed George 
Farrow, — all the settlers being constantly terrified with appre- 
hensions of instant death. 

Unable to meet the Indians, who were extremely shy, the 
troops, Oct. 12, sailed from Casco-neck and continued the resi- 
October 14. duc of the month at Nevvichawannock. On the second day 
attacked." only, after they passed Black-point, a body of 120 Indians^ made 
a furious assault upon the garrison there ; when fortunately all 
the surviving inhabitants of the place were safe within its walls. 
This fortress, which was commanded by Henry Joscelyn, Esq. 



* 4 Mass. Rec. p. 78. — Afterwards completed and called "Fort Loyal." 
—See fosl. A. D. IfiCO, chap. 21. f In York. | Sullivan, p. 2-11. 

5 Card says " 120 fisbtin^^ ineu."— Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 2CU— 2V3. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 541 

was strong, and as easily defensible by few men as any one upon a. d. ig76. 
the coast. Aware of the fact, the arch-leader, Mugg, told the 
commander, if he would surrender, he and his associates should 
be free to depart with all their goods, without injury or insult. 
During the parley, Joscelyn suffered himself to be drawn out a 
short distance from the garrison, and on returning, he was sur- 
prized to learn that in his absence all the people, except his house- 
hold servants, had laden their boats and were gone. In this 
wretched predicament, he was obliged to surrender at discretion.* 
The event was a mighty boon — in which Mugg took great pride. 
For, the Indians themselves had on the same point, and in the vi- 
cinity, two slender fortifications and eight wigwams between 
them ; and the present surrender, in addition to the burning of 
Blue-point, the last year, completed the ruin of Scarborough. 

To prevent the Indians from plundering Richmond Island, of Seizure of 
all the valuable property collected there ; Walter Gendell per- rrew at 
suaded Capt. Fryer of Portsmouth, to proceed with his vessel island, 
and crew, and remove what remained. He did so ; but as they 
were loading their vessel, a part of the sailors on shore were 
seized, and a part on board were driven below deck. Next, by 
leaping into canoes, the bolder savages succeeded in cutting 
the cables, and the wind blowing fresh from the southeast, 
drove the ketch ashore. Surrender, said they, or Jlames will 
soon make you prisoners of death. Theirs was now a most 
wretched choice, — either to die by fire or the tomahawk ; — to 
be thrown into the deep, or to commit a species of suicide, by 
surrendering themselves prisoners to blood-thirsty barbarians. 
But as Captain Fryer lay wounded and bleeding before their eyes, 
his men at last concluded to risque the tender mercies of the 
savages, and eleven were made prisoners. In the cartel, they 
were to ransom themselves by delivering a specified quantity of 
goods in a limited time ; — to procure which, two of the prisoners 
were released, who, departing, returned with the ransom before the 
time elapsed. But as the exacters ihemselves were then absent 
on some new expedition, their fellows took it, killed one of the 



* HubhanVs Indian Wars, p. 390. — The "list of the inhabitants at 
Black-point garrison, Oct. 12, 1676," exhibits the names of about 60 rnen, 
including those within and without the fort. — 1 Coll. Jfainc Hist. Soc. p. 
140. 



542 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1G7G. bearers, and retained the rest of his companions in custody : — 
A true specimen this, of Indian faith. 

Such a repetition of uninterrupted successes, filled the natives 
with hopes, and the inhabitants with fears, that the entire Prov- 
ince would soon be overrun and laid waste. Mugg, sensible of 
October 18. the advantages gained, led a force, Oct. 18, against Wells garri- 
vVeUs. °'* son at the town's end, and sent his prisoner, Walter Gendell, to 
demand a capitulation. JVever, said the commander, never 
shall the gates be opened, till every one within is dead. Re- 
pelled by so bold a reply, yet bent on mischief, Mugg and his 
associates killed two persons, wounded a third, cut the throats of 
thirteen cattle, from which they took only their tongues, and then 
withdrew to the woods. 
Nov. i! Supposing that the Indians were collecting at their great fort 

to^Ossbee. ^"^ Ossipee river, Captains Hawthorn, Sill — and their men 
took up their march, Nov. 1, from Newichawannock, towards 
that place ; wading through deep snows, and passing several 
streams, not frozen hard enough to bear a traveller. This expe- 
dition of two months, with all its hardships and expenses, was 
entirely fruitless ; not an Indian being seen, and nothing more 
done, than burning a part of their fort.* 
.J , Mugg, the most cunning Indian of the age, came to Piscata- 

prosais of qyg^ bringing in Fryer, dying of his wounds, and declared upon 
his faith, which he said was still good, that the prisoners taken at 
Richmond's Island, would shortly be restored, without ransom ; 
at the same time, proposing in behalf of Madockawando to ne- 
gotiate a peace. He and his sagacious master saw how much 
it consisted with motives of policy and the dictates of prudence, 
— to treat with a discomfited, desponding foe, — to present the 
first offer in behalf of their tribe, that had much to lose and 
nothing to gain by the war, — and to anticipate the necessities of 
an approaching winter, when the means of sustenance must be 
entirely meager, and prisoners burdensome. In short, they ex- 
pressed ardent wishes for a speedy return of peace and of all 
neutral Indians, several of whom, from every tribe, even of the 
Canibas and Anasagunticooks, had been absent most of the sum- 
mer ;f suspecting if the war was continued, that they would form 



* Huhbard's Indian Wars, p. STG — Day of the return, January 9. 
f F. Card's Deposition. 



Chap, xx.] of Maine. 543 

connexions with the Algonquins, and other northern Indians, A, D. 1G7G. 
which could not be readily dissolved, and which might be the 
means of thinning the tribes. 

Mugg, therefore, through the agency of jVIajor-General Den- 
nison, then at Piscataqua, was favored with an immediate passage 
to Boston : where he, in behalf of iMadockawando and Cheberrina, 
negotiated a treaty, Nov. G, with the Governor and Council; ^o^-fi- 

, , . . He negoti- 

and signed it, " The mark X of Mugg." Its articles were m aips a trea- 
substance, these : — 1 . All acts of hostility shall cease ; 2. all 
English captives, vessels and goods, shall be restored ; 3. a full 
satisfaction shall be rendered to the English for the damages they 
have sustained ; 4. the Indians shall buy ammunition only of 
those whom the Governor may appoint ; 5, the slayers of Wal- 
ter Gendell and his friends, engaged in the ransom of the cap- 
tives at Richmond's Island, if they are indeed killed, shall be 
surrendered to the English ; and G. the Sachems of Penobscot 
shall take arms against the Anasagunticooks and other eas- 
tern Indians, if they do still persist in the war.* 

' In faith of my sincerity and honor,' said Mugg, ' I pledge my- 
' self an hostage in your hands, till the captives, vessels and 
* goods are restored ; and I lift my hand to heaven, in witness of 
' my honest heart in this treaty.' 

On the 21st of the same month, Capt. jNIoore was despatched j^r^^ «,j 
to Penobscot, in a vessel with the Indian emissary, to procure a 
ratification of the treaty and bring home the captives. Soon as 
he arrived, Dec. 2, the articles all received the sanction of the 
Sagamore ; Gcndcll and a few other prisoners, especially those 
taken at Richmond's Island were surrendered ; and Mugg declared, 
that not more than 50 or GO, in the whole, could be found among 
all the Indians. 

Reluctant as he pretended to be, through apprehensions of 
injury or blame for his eonciliatory transactions, he was induced 
to visit the Canibas tribe, with a mouth full of persuasives to join 
the peace and release captives. He expected to go as far as Te- 
connet ; and when he departed, he said to Capt. Moore, if I do 
not return in Jour days, you may conclude 1 am certainly bereft of 
my life or liberty. A week or more elapsed, and yet nothing was 
heard of him ; therefore the Captain returned home. It was 



* See this treaty entire. — 2 J^eurs jV. E. p. 403-5. 



544 THE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D.j 676. afterwards reported, that Mugg, in a laughing mood, said to the 

Indians at Teconnet, — / know how we can even hum Boston, 

and drive all the country bejore us : — we must go to the fishing 

Islands, and take all the white menh vessels.^ 

The story of Thomas Cobbet, one of the captives taken the 

Tiift slory of 

T. Cobbet. last autumn at Richmond's Island, who returned home with Capt. 
Moore, is worthy of particular mention. His father was the min- 
ister of Ipswich. After being wounded by a musket shot, his 
hands were fast tied, and in the division of the captives, it was his 
unfortunate lot to be assigned to an Indian of the worst character. 
Young Gobbet's first duty was to manage the captured ketch of 
Fryer, in sailing to Sheepscot, and from that place to paddle a 
canoe, carrying his master and himself, to Penobscot, and thence 
to their hunting ground at Mount Desert. He suffered the ex- 
tremes of cold, fatigue and famine ; and because he could not 
understand the Indian dialect, the savage often drew his knife 
upon him, threatening him with instant death. In hunting, on a 
day of severe cold, he fell down in the snow, benumbed, famished 
and senseless. Here he must have perished, had not the more 
humane hunters conveyed him to a wigwam and restored him. 
At another time his savage master was drunk five successive 
days, in which he was fearfully raving like a wild beast. To 
such an alarming degree did he beat and abuse his own squaws, 
that Cobbet, who knew himself to be much more obnoxious than 
they, to his fury, fled into the woods to save his life ; where he 
made a fire, formed a slender covert, and the squaws fed him. 

At the end of nine weeks, the Indians had a ^ve^X powow ; 
and his master sent him to Mons. Castine for ammunition to kill 
moose and deer. He arrived at a most opportune hour, just be- 
fore Mugg's departure to Teconnet, who readily called him by 
name. Ah ! said Mugg, 1 saiv your father when I went to Bos- 
ton — and I told him his son should return. He must be releas- 
ed according to the treaty. Yes, replied Madockawando, but the 
captain must give me the fine coat he has in the vessel ; Jor his 
father is a " great preach-man,^^ or chiej speaker, among English- 
men. — This request was granted, and young Cobbet saw his de- 
moniac master no more. 

The late treaty gave some encouragements of a settled tran- 

* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 386-391. 



Chap, xx.] of MAINE. 545 

quillity, still the aspect of Indian affairs was by no means free A. D. 1677. 
from gloom. The conduct of Mugg was suspicious ; a part only Indian af- 
of the captives had returned ; some of the Indians threatened to 
break the treaty ; and the scalps taken from the heads of three 
" foreign Indians," at Cocheco, who were known by the cut of 
their hair,* to be Narragansetts, induced the belief that many of 
those peojile had mixed with the eastern tribes, and were foment- 
ing quarrels. At length a renewal of hostilities in the spring was 
extensively apprehended ; and the General Court ordered a win- 
ter expedition to be fitted out eastward. 

This, consistina; of 150 men, of whom GO were Natick Indians, F^'*'^:. 

. Expedition 

sailed from Boston early in February, under the command of against the 

enciny. 

Majors Waldron and Frost ; a day of prayer being previously ap- 
pointed for the success of the enterprize. The places of their 
particular destination were Casco and Kennebeck, and their in- 
structions were, " to subdue the Indians in those parts, and deliver 
" the English captives detained in their hands." 

The first intelligence they received concerning the eastern 
Indians, was communicated by John Abbot, at the Isles of Shoals; 
who, with the help of a boy, had effected an escape from them at 
Sheepscot in his own vessel. He said, ammv.nition was uncom- 
monly scarce and dear, among all the Indians ; — especially at 
Kennebeck, powder was Avorth 32*. by the pound, and some 
were gone or going into Canada to buy it. 

Waldron landed his troops, Feb. 18, upon Mare-point in Bruns- Fek 18. 
wick, a league below Maquoit, where they were presently hailed Mare^point 
by a party of Indians, among whom appeared Squando and Simon jJUsh^ "^" 
the Yankee-killer. A parley was commenced, in which Waldron 
enquired of Simon, their speaker, — From what place did you hear 
of us ?— At ' Purpooduck-head.'-- Jf7iO roused up the Indians to re- 
nerv the loar?—' Oh !— Blind Will :— He says he'll kill Waldron.'f 
— Do you desire peace ? — ' Yes, and we sent Mugg to Boston for 
' that purpose — he told us you'd be here.' — Can you tell us, where 
noiv arc the English captives ? — ' O, may be under Squando.' — 
Are they well 1 — ' Yes.' — Why donH you release them ? — Squando 
replied, ' I will bring them in the afternoon.' 

Nothing more was seen of the Indians, till noon the next day, 

* Fiubbard's Indian Wars, p. 392-5.-1 Bclk. N. H. p. 122. 
f This was probably a false assertion. 
Vol.. T. 56 



546 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1677. when a little flotilla of 14 canoes, was discovered up the bay, 
pulling for the shore ; and presently a house was seen in flames. 
As Waldron's scout approached the Indians, they raised a hideous 
shout, and challenged some of the soldiers to fight. Maj. Frost 
attacked them from an unexpected quarter, — killing or wounding 
several ; and again presented a flag of truce, which produced 
another parley. 

The Sagamores were now asked, — why they had not brought 
the captives 'I — why they set the white mail's house on fire '^ — 
and why they challenged the soldiers ? — They replied, ' that the 
' captives were a great way off, and the snow and cold weather 
' had prevented their coming ; — that the house took fire by ac- 
' cident ; and that the soldiers fired at the Indians first :' — ' These 
' are our answers to you.' 

„, ,, Unable here to fight the Indians to advantage, or recover 

Waldron at '-' ^ ^ 

Sagada- the captives, Waldron sailed to Sagadahock. Disembarking on 
the western shore of the peninsula, opposite the foot of Arrowsick 
Island, and concluding to settle a garrison there ; he made 
arrangements for the purpose, and set about half of his men to 
Feb. 26. work. With the others in two vessels, he proceeded, Feb. 26, to 
Pemaquid. Meeting at that place three or four Sachems and an 
assemblage of mixed Indians, partly Tarratines, he agreed with 
them, the next day, to lay aside arms on both sides, sub- 
rait to a mutual search, and enter upon the negotiation of a 
treaty. 
Fci). 27. Iti its commencement, Waldron desired them to restore their 

*^fr!';'iv"at' captives, also to take arms, furnish canoes, and proceed against 
i'einBquid. ^j^g Anasaguuticooks, as a common enemy. A few of our young 
men only, said an old Sagamore, who cannot he restrained, have 
had any concern in the war. All the prisoners with us, were 
received from the Canibas tribe to keep ; and we must have for 
supporting each one of them, 12 heaver skins, and some good 
liquor. Our canoes, you know, are in use; we are hound to 
Penobscot in them. — Sufficient liquor was then given them, and 
abundant ransom was offered ; yet only three prisoners were pro- 
duced, or could be obtained. 

Though their sincerity was suspected and their treachery 
feared ; another meeting was appointed in the afternoon. At that 
time Waldron espying the point of a lance under a board, searched 
farther, when he found other weapons hidden also ; and taking 



f» 



Chap, xx.] of MAINE. 547 

one, he brandished it towards them, exchim'm^,— perfidious a. d. ig77. 
wretches — you intended to get our goods and then kill us, did 
you ? — They were thunder struck : Yet, one more daring than 
the rest, seized the weapon and strove to wrest it from VValdron's 
hand. A tumult ensued, in which his hfe was much endangered. 
Maj. Frost, laying hold of IMegunnaway, one of the barbarous 
murderers of Thomas Brackett and his neighbors, hurried him into 
the hold of the vessel. Meanwhile an athletic squaw caught up 
a bundle of guns, and run for the woods. At that instant, a re- 
enforcement arrived from the vessels ; wdien the Indians scattered 
in all directions, — pursued by the soldiers, either to the water's 
edge or into the forest. 

In this affray, Sagamore Mattahando, also an old Powow, and 
five Indians were killed. One canoe was capsized, from which 
five of them were drowned ; — and four others were made prison- 
ers. Waldron preserved his goods, and took from the Indians 
about 1,000 pounds of beef and some other booty. But the 
chastisement partook of a severity, which the provocation by no 
means justified ; nor could it be dictated by motives of sound 
policy. It must have reminded the Indians of the mock-fight at 
Dover, and served to increase their prejudices. One of his pris- 
oners was the fiur sister of Madockawando, whose influence with 
her brother, had he not been absent on a long hunting tour, might 
have effected a release of captives. Megunnaway, grown hoary 
in crimes, was shot.* 

On their return to Arrowsick, they killed two Indian plunderers vvaidron at 
found there, put on board the large guns, several anchors, a quan- J^r^^^s]*^ ' 
tity of wheat and boards which had escaped the flames, and sent 
a captive squaw to Teconnet fort ; demanding in their names an 
exchange of prisoners. They likewise left, under Capt. Sylva- 
nus Davis, a garrison of 40 men upon the main, where it was 
lately setded, and returned to Boston, IMarch 11, without the loss March ii, 

•II 1 T 1 f r^ ri -1 lithiums to 

of a man ; carry mg with them the body of Capt. Lake, entn-ely Boston, 
preserved by cold. 

As the Mohawks were In amity with the English, and an uni- The Mo- 

Inwks liircd 

versal terror to all the New-England tribes ;f it was thought to into service. 

* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 410. 

t The whole number of Mohawk fighters, or warriors of the Five Na- 
tions. A. D. 1677, were estimated at 2,150. — Chalmers. 



548 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1677. consist with maxims of the wisest policy, to persuade them, if 
possible, into the public service. The measure was recommended 
by Sir Edmund Andros, the Duke's Governor of New-York and 
Sagadahock,* and fifteen of them were at length taken into em- 
March IG. ploy; who appeared, March 16, in the vicinity of Amoskeag- 
falls, on the Merrimack. They first hailed the son of Wonnolan- 
set, who, being unable to understand the language, took fright and 
fled ; they all firing two rounds at him without effect. Unac- 
Biind Will quainted with the friendly character of Blind Will, and the Indians 
killed. about Cocheco, they next attacked him and eight of his tribe, 
then employed by Waldron to make discoveries, and only a part 
of them escaped alive. The death of Blind Will, one of the 
slain, was the less lamented, because of his supposed duplicity ; 
though his general conduct had always been in consistency with his 
professions. In any point of view, the event was unfortunate, as the 
introduction of the Mohawks to our assistance was altogether im- 
politic. Religious people thought there was great impropriety in 
applying to the heathen for help.f The news of their arrival 
upon our frontiers spread, almost with the rapidity of lightning, 
through the New-England and Nova Scotia tribes. All were ex- 
cited to greater activity and watchfulness ; and our Indian allies, 
in view of the late fatality, aggravated by a report of their being 
hirelings into the war, became highly jealous, that an indiscriminate 
extermination was intended. f Any longer retention of the Mo- 
hawks in service was evidently forbidden by every principle of 
prudence — by every particle of good sense. 

A view of the past and anticipations of the future, were equally 
gloomy. Ere the snow had entirely disappeared, the ravening 
savages had singled out their victims, and were impatient to re- 
new the work of destruction ; York, Wells, and the new garrison 
opposite Arrowsick, being the principal objects of their vengeance. 
Indeed, if we except those places, Kittery, Newichawannock, 
and Winter-harbor, we may enquire what other places in Maine 
were not already wasted or deserted ? 
M- , .,. , To bury the bodies of the murdered inhabitants, which had lain 

INine killed .' ' 

on Arrow- ^bove ground upon Arrowsick, more than seven months, a large part 
of the opposite garrison proceeded to the Island, not suspecting dan- 
ger. But they were soon fired upon ; an ambush intercepted 



* 1 Trumbull's Conn. p. 326. f Hubbard's Indion Wars, ji. 410. 

t Hubbard's N. E. p. 630-1. 



Chap, xx.] of xMaine. 549 

their retreat to their boats ; and nine of them were shot down A. D. ig77. 
upon the spot.* The survivors were soon after removed by- 
order of goverunient to other places, perhaps to Casco-fort, 
Black-point, or Winter-harbor ;f and Capt. Swaine with CO men, 
including ten Naticks, was despatched from Piscataqua eastward, 
to afford relief, succor, or support, where either was most needed. 

About the same time, April 7, seven men were killed in the April 7. 

z' I 1 r "IT- 1 -1 r Sevpii killed 

outer fields ot York, two mues from town, engaged in the first •" York, 
labor of spring. It was a feat which partook of great audacity ; 
for that town being more environed by settlements than others, 
had suffered less than they ; still supposing, for the same reason, 
no great danger to be apprehended. 

But the town, which the savages seemed to have marked out Attack upoa 
this year for early and utter destruction, was Wells. From their ^ *' 
first entering it, April G, when they killed three, to the end of the 
month, they made attacks upon the people and their garrison 
several times. On the 13th, John Weld and Benjamin Storer a prills, 
vrere killed by them. Two or three approaching a man and boy^ 
who were fowling in the marshes, were first espied by the boy,, 
when the man was half-sitting and fixing his flint. Springing up 
as the boy spoke, he aimed his gun directly at them, crying out„ 
ah, you rogues, I've been looking fo?' you; — when they, being 
startled by this bold rebuff, turned and fled. The fort was com- 
manded by Lieut. Swctt, a brave and vigilant officer — always- 
alert and active for the safety of the inhabitants. Seeing a 
strolling Indian, who was in fact a decoy, Swett despatched eleven 
of his men towards the place, to make discoveries. By ventur- 
ing too far, they fell into an ambush, when two were shot dead, 
and one mortally wounded. Hearing the report of the guns, 
Swett sent out auxiliaries, who killed five or six, and would have 
done thorough execution, had not an Irishman sung out, here 
they be ! — here they be ! — which so alarmed them, that they with- 
drew and sheltered themselves among the thick trees and bushes.. 

After the garrison had been re-established at Black-point, and May ig. 
the command of it accepted by Lieut. Tappen, a man of great ^a?rison'*be'- 
courage ; the Indians beset it, May 16, with an uncommon bold-^^[i'^^"^.],_ 
ness and pertinacity. The siege was continued three days in sue- ^'^• 



* Hubbard's Indian Wars, p. 410. 

f 1 Ijclknnjrs N. H. p. 127, snvs (o Boston. 



550 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1G77. cession ; the assailants determining to force a surrender, or perish 
in the attempt. In this most obstinate encounter, three of the 
EngUsh were slain and one taken, who was barbarously tortured 
to death. One of the enemy brought to the ground, by particu- 
lar aim, was then supposed to be old Simon — afterwards found 
to be the celebrated Mugg. The loss of this leader so damped 
the courage of his companions, that they, in despair of victory, 
departed. Mugg had alternately brightened and shaded his own 
character, until the most skilful pencil would find it difficult to 
draw its just portrait. To the English this remarkable native was 
friend or foe — and among his own people, counsellor, peacemaker, 
fighter, or emissary, just as self-interest or the particular occasion 
might dictate. His address was inspiring, and his natural good 
sense and sagacity partially inclined him to be an advocate for 
peace. 

York and gy repulses, the Indians learned precaution, though defeat 

sai'ed seldom crippled their spirits. The party, after Mugg's death, di- 
vided, — eleven canoes full of Indians, proceeded eastward, to 
glean in the waste places of their spoils, and five hastened away 
to Wells and York ; where, within a few days, they killed seven 
persons, and took two captives. Finding six friendly Indians, 
May 28th, lying in a state of intoxication, they made prisoners 
of them, but at last left them in the woods, after a day's journey 
of 20 miles, through fear of the terrible Mohawks. 

Civil affairs. Though the town of Kittery was represented, this year in the 
General Court, by John Wincoln, also York and Wells, by Sam- 
uel Wheelwright, and the administration of justice was continued 
in Yorkshire ; the inhabitants of Devonshire had left their homes, 
and all the judicial regulations in that county were at an end. 
For the defence of Black-point, and the security of Winter- 

Black-poml ^ •' 

bailie. harbor, the General Court ordered a company of 40 men to be 
recruited, 200 Christian Indians taken into service, and all such 
able-bodied men enlisted, or impressed, as could be found, who 
had migrated from the Province of Maine.* The command of 
the forces, including the Indians, was given to Capt. Benja- 
min Swett and Lieut. Richardson. They arrived at Black-point 

June 28. on the 28th of June in high spirits. 

It is a rule of policy in fighting the Indians to gain time. Aware 

* 4 Mass. Rec. p. 109, 116. 



Chap, xx.") ov Maine. 561 

of the maxim, and informed of the fact, that the savages had A. i). ic*7. 
been seen hovering around tlie place, Swett, at the head of one 
division, and Richardson the other, joined by some of the inhab- 
itants,* led out the whole, the next morning, upon the declivities j^^e 2y. 
of a neighboring hill. A large decoy, supposed to be the main 
body of the Indians, feigned a retreat, and were pursued by Swett 
and Richardson, till they found themselves between a thicket and 
a swamp, in a most exposed situation. Instantly, from an am- 
bush on each side, great numbers rising with a war-whoop, fired 
at once upon the two divisions, in which there were many young 
or inexperienced soldiers, and the whole were thrown into con- 
fusion. But though the ranks were broken, the engagement was 
sharp and proti'acted. Richardson was presently slain, and many 
on both sides soon shared the same fate. Swett fought the ene- 
my hand to hand ; displaying upon the spot, and in a retreat of 
two miles, great presence of mind as well as personal courage, 
in repeated rallies of his men, in his exertions to bring off the 
dead and wounded, and in defence of his rear, upon which the 
savages hung with destructive fury. At last, wounded in 
twenty places, and exhausted by loss of blood and by fatigue, he 
was grappled, dirown to the ground, and barbarously cut in 
pieces at the gates of die garrison. With this intrepid ofiicer, 
fell sixty of his men, forty English and twenty Indians, being two 
thirds of the whole number in tlie engagement. Seldom is the 
merit of a military officer more genuine — seldom is the death of 
one more deeply lamented. f 

The triumphant savages, in their next movement, spread them- The Indians 
selves along the seacoast from Wells to Casco-bay, resolved to ing vesse)s. 
try the favors of fortune upon the water. They were neither 
sailors nor skilful oars-men ; yet, by frequenting the harbors In 
the night-time, they were enabled to seize, in the month of July, . 
about twenty fishing vessels at anchor, — the greater part of which 
belonged to Salem. J Each of them carried from three to six 
men, who might have made a successful defence, had they not 
been taken by surprize ; or, as one author says, ' had they either 
* courage or skill to fight any thing but fish. '§ In fact, four did 

* Making 90 English in all. — Folsom, p. 160. 

+ Hubbard's i\. E. p. 034.-1 Belle. N. H. p. 12S.— 6 Coll, Mass. Hist. 
6oc. p. 263. I 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 263. 

5 Hubbard's N. E, p. C35. 



562 THE HISTORV [VoL. I. 

AD. 1G77. make a brave resistance ; having several men killed, and carry- 
ing nineteen others into Salem wounded. Hence, a large vessel, 
equipped like a war-ship and manned with 40 seamen, was des- 
patched to recapture the prizes, and give the enemy battle : — A 
vain enterprize — for the unskilful captors, finding the ketches too 
heavy to be managed with paddles, and being unable otherwise 
to manage them, had taken out all the valuable articles and aban- 
doned the whole of them. If most of the ketches were recov- 
ered, it is certain the crew of the cruiser while out, never saw a 
single Indian. 
The good Such wcrc the calamities and distresses of the summer, 1677, 
Gov? All- through the Province ; when alleviation arose from an enterprize 
*''"°^" unanticipated. Fearful that the Duke's Sagadahock Province 

in its present deserted condition, might be seized upon by the 
French or other foreign nation. Sir Edmund Andros, in June,* 
sent a military force from New- York to Pemaquid, with orders 
to take possession of the country, and build a fort at that place. 
When the garrison was finished, he placed in it " a considerable 
number of soldiers," established a custom house there, f and 
recommended an intercourse and traffic with the natives. The 
commander finding them to be pacific and tranquil, entered into 
jAu^ust. an agreement, early in August, with some of the Sagamores ;J 
in consequence of vyhich, fifteen captives were surrendered, and 
the vessels detained by them, were permitted to return home. 
A. I). iiTiQ. The harmony which prevailed through the autumn and winter, 
-Casco. between the parties, and the pleasures of tranquillity and safety 
enjoyed, strongly induced other Indians to think of peace ;§ and 
in the spring, Major Nicholas Shapleigh, of Kittery, who had 
succeeded Frost in the command of the Yorkshire regiment, Capt. 
Champernoon and Capt. Fryer of Portsmouth, were appointed 
commissioners by the government of Massachusetts, to settle a 
peace with Squando and all the Sagamores upon the Androscog- 
gin and Kennebeck. They met the Indians at Casco, and entered 
into articles of peace, April 12th, 1678, by which, || 1. the cap- 
tives present were to to be surrendered, and those absent released 
without ransom ; 2. all the inhabitants, on returning to their homes, 

* But Belknap't JV. H. p. 158, says it was " in August." 
f 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 292. J 4 Mass. Rec. p. 147. 

\ Hubbard's J\''. E. p. 637—9. — Philip's war ceased this winter, at the 
westward. || Neal's N. E. p. 407. 



Chap, xx.] of maine. 553 

were to enjoy their habitations and possessions unmolested ; but A. D. 1G77, 
3. they were to pay for their lands to the Indians, year by year, a 
quit-rent of a peck of corn for every English family, and for 
Major Phillips of Saco,* who was a great proprietor, a bushel 
of corn. 

Though the close of king Philip's war in Maine was the cause close of 
of universal joy, the terms of peace were generally considered jp-s^sarl ' 
by the English, to be of a disgraceful character, — nevertheless, 
preferable to a predatory warfare and its consequent deprivations 
and calamities. Nor were the exactions of the Sagamores un- 
just. The Aborigines, it was acknowledged, had a possessory 
right to the country ; large tracts had been taken from the Soko- 
kis, the Anasagunticook and Canibas tribes, as well by en- 
croachment as by purchase ; and their remarkable successes 
through the late war, might very properly embolden them to dic- 
tate these hard conditions of peace. 

The losses sustained through the country, eastward of Piscat- 
aqua, were various and great. About 260 were known to have 
been killed or carried into captivity, from which they never re- 
turned. There were probably many others, the accounts of 
whose deaths have never been noticed, or transmitted to poster- 
ity. Numbers were severely wounded, who survived ; and an 
hundred and fifty or more, at different times, were made captives 
who were released. The dwellinghouses at Cape-Neddock, 
Scarborough, Casco, Arrowsick, Pemaquid and several other 
places were reduced to ashes. Possessions were laid waste, 
domestic animals killed, and a great amount of property plun- 
dered or destroyed. The cost of the war in Maine, to the colo- 
ny government, was £8,000, besides incidental losses.f 



* 1 Belk. N. H. p. 129.— Erroneously Pendleton. 

t 4 .Vaw. Rec. p. 147-359. — The loss and damage of Philip's war to all 
the colonics, are estimated thus : — losses of men, 600; 1,200 houses ; 8,000 
cattle;— cost £150,000. Loss to the Indians, 3,000 Mycs.—Hulch. Coll p. 
493. 

Vol, I. 67 



554 '^^^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The purchase of Maine by Massachusetts displeases the King — 
Andros, Governor of New-York and Sagadahoch — Affairs of 
Maine — State of the country — Last County-Court — Gorges^ char- 
ter restimed — T. Dan forth elected President — Difficulties in the 
way of a neto administration — E. Randolph' s demeanor — JSorth- 
Yarmouth confirmed — President Danforth takes possession of 
Fort-Loyal — A Provincial government established — The Coun- 
cil — Articles of settlement — Public Officers — An instance of per- 
secution — Grants of Lands — Patriots of 3Iassachusctts accused 
before the king — Her Charter vacated — Demise of the crown^ 
Charles II. succeeded hy James II. — Pcjepscot purchase made — 
Troubles tcith the Indians feared — Treaty loith them — Neio Ad- 
ministration under Dudley — He is superseded by Sir Edmund 
Andros — His character. 
A. D. 1677. The purchase of Maine by the colony of Massachusetts was 

The pnr- \ . "^ t , i 

chase of in Several respects an uiipoi'tant cvent. It settled a troublesome 
pleases the controversy with Gorges ; it established an incontrovertible right 



mg. 



to the soil of a country containing more square miles than the 
colony itself; and formed a connexion with its inhabitants by 
legal ties. But the bargain greatly displeased Charles II., the 
reigning king. Desirous, as he was, to make provision for the 
Duke of Monmouth, his beloved natural son, and being with 
that view engaged in treaty at the time, with the proprietor, he 
was so much affronted, when he was informed of the transfer, 
that he reprimanded the agents for their disloyal interference, and 
required them to assign it unto the crown, upon payment of the. 
sura they had given. He even pressed the demand ; stating in a 
letter to the colony government, ' We were much surprized, while 
' listening to the complaints of Mr. Gorges, that you should pre- 
' sume, without asking our royal permission, to purchase his inter- 
' est in the Province of Maine ; acquainted, as you know we are, 
' with some effects of the severe hand you have holden over our 
' subjects there.* 

* Hutch. Colt. p. 451, 581. — There had been a proposition to convey the 
Province of Maine and Ncw-IIampshirc to Jhe king-, with a de.^ig^n of 



Chap, xxi.] OF MAINE. 555 

But this authoritative address had no great influence upon the a. D. 1677. 
government and people of the colony. They were not strangers 
to their rights. The purchase was open and fair — made at the 
desire of the provincials themselves, when they were driven to 
extremities hy an Indian war, and when nearly all the assistance 
and protection they were receiving, proceeded from Massachusetts. 

Edmund Andros, ducal Governor of New-York and Sagada-A.D. 1678. 
hock, under James, the hrother of the king, was without doubt GoI! of N. 
his minion, and a foe to the proprietors of the purchase. For, sa^ada- 
besides taking possession of the provincial territory and establish- ^°^^' 
ing a fort at Pemaquid, Andros manifested a strong disposition to 
monopolize the trade and (ishery, and discountenance a return of 
such settlers, as appeared determined to yield allegiance to Mas- 
sachusetts. In this repulsive policy, her concurrence was claimed 
by him ; but the General Court boldly declared, ' we shall never 
' prevent our people from settling their proprieties in that section, 
' whether upon the Islands or the main, within our jurisdic- 
* tion.'* 

An uniform course of measures was steadily pursued. The Mnv 
General Court, during their session in the spring, admitted, as jjj''^'"*''^ 
usual, three associates for Yorkshire ; invested Major Waldron 
with magistrate's authority to administer the qualifying oaths to 
them and the town commissioners, for that county and Devon- 
shire ; and delegated Thomas Danforth to preside, the current 
year, in the County Courts. Maine was then attracting great 
public attention ; and at the adjournment, in October, the late October, 
purchase was formally ratified and confirmed by the General 
Court. In fulfilment of the stipulations, the legislature author- 
ized the colony-treasurer to effect a loan of the consideration 
money, and pledge the accruing customs, with the public credit, 
for security. The assignment being effected in the midst of an 
Indian war, was obtained at a low price ;f yet the taxes, debts, 



inakinj provision for the DnUc of Moumontii. — CoUitis'' Letter tn Gov. Lcv- 
rrdt, July 28, 1674. * \ Mass. Rec. p. 117, 173, 193. 

f 1 Doug. p. 389. — The establishment of Fort Loyal on the Neck, [Fal- 
mouth] on its south westerlj' shore, not far from the end of the bridg'e to 
Purpooduck, and the maintenance of a garrison therein, were an additional 
charge. The Province of Maine agreed to maintain 6 soldiers ; and Mas- 
sachusetts 7, including- the Captain, Sergeant, Gunner and 4 privates, the 
expense of the latter being estimated at £400 per annum. 



656 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1678. burdens, and the people's uncommon indigence, occasioned by 
tiiat war, rendered it doubtful whether the money promised could 
be raised without a re-sale ; so great was the snm of £1,250 at 
that time in view of a war-worn, exhausted community. The leg- 
islature therefore, invested the Governor and Assistants with dis- 
cretionary power, to make a disposition of the entire Province, 
if necessary, either by transfer or pledge, to effect a reimburse- 
ment of the loan.* There were no capitalists nor foreign mer- 
chants at this period in the country. ' New planters from Eng- 
' land had rarely come over for many years past; nor had any Irish, 
' or Scotch foreigners of late become settlers ; moreover, our own 
' traders were neither numerous nor wealthy. Few vessels were 
' built in the country over 100 tons' burthen ;'f and there was a 
scarcity of circulating medium. 
A. D. ifiTj. The gentlemen clothed with judicial authority for the eastern 
Cou'r^uir Province, in 1679, were Joseph Dudley and Richard Waldron, 
*^r ^!u^'^' Commissioners — Edward Rishworth, John Wincoln, Joshua Scot- 
tow, and Samuel Wheelwright, Associates ; at whose last session 
in a County Court, holden at York, under the colony government, 
before the administration was changed — the circumstances of one 
July. case, decided in July, are worthy to be related. 

A trial. James Adams of York, affronted with one of his neighbors, 

Henry Simpson, determined to avenge himself upon two of his 
unoffending sons, whose ages were between six and nine years. 
His contrivance and crime were the more satanical as they were 
deliberate. In a solitary place, 4 or 5 miles from the dwelling- 
houses of the inhabitants, he built of logs beside a ledge of per- 
pendicular rocks, a pen or pound, several feet in height, inclined 
inwards from the bottom to the top. After this, he decoyed the 
boys into the woods under a pretence of looking for birds' nests, 
and had the art to draw them within the pound, J where he left 
them confined, to perish with famine and suffering. The chil- 
dren were soon missed, and the alarmed inhabitants searched the 
woods for them thoroughly, more than forty-eight hours without 
success. The boys, presently aware of their v/retched situation, 
made various trials to get out, and at length by digging away 



* 1 Hutch. Hist. p. '296. — lie snys >' to reimburse the expense of defend., 
inff it." . f Chalmers, p. 436, 437, 

yriir, plncp hns brpu hince called "■the DcviCs Invention.'"' 



Chap, xxi.] of Maine. 557 

uith their hands, the surface of the earth underneath one of the a. D. 1679. 
bottom logs, effected their escape. They wandered in the woods 
three days : being at last, attracted to the seashore, by the noise 
of the surf, where they were found. 

The depraved criminal was soon arrested, and after conviction 
received this sentence. — •' The Court having considered your in- 
" human and barbarous offence against the life of the children, 
*' and the great disturbance to the country, do sentence you to 
^' have thirty stripes well laid on ; to pay the father of the chil- 
■" dren £5 money — the treasurer of the county £10, out of 
^' which, the expenses of postage and searching the town are to 
" be discharged ; — also pay the charges and fees of the prison ; 
" and remain a close prisoner during the Court's pleasure, till 
" further order." Tiie same month sureties entered into recog- 
nizance of £100, before two of the Associates, " conditioned to 
" send him, within twenty-one days, out of the jurisdiction."* 

The eastern Indians had now been pacific and tranquil upwards 
of a year ; and the fugitive inhabitants of the Province were re- 
turning to their late habitations and places of abode. But as 
hostilities might be easily renewed, and were much feared, no new 
settlement was permitted to be commenced, without a license from 
the Governor and Assistants, or from the County Court. 

At the October session, the affairs of Maine were made the October, 
subject of legislative discussion. The territory was extensive,f nicnfof""* 
and the value evidently much greater than the price paid. The -^^^'"'^• 
General Court, not unacquainted with the intrigues of royal cab- 
inets, were jealous that if they in any way parted with the country, 
it might become the property of the French ; and finding the con- 
dition of their funds improving, reconsidered their order passed 
a year since for selling it, and resolved to keep it. 

A great question then arose J — how shall the Province be gov- 
erned .'' It was argued by some, that all the assignable rights and 
interest of Gorges were pecuniary, not political ; that allegiance 
was personal, and civil power vested in an individual, was not 
transferable ; and that a public functionary could never delegate 
his authority ; the sale and purchase of office being a manifest 



* lion. David Sewall, A. D. 1794.— 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 9-10.— 1 
Coll. Maine Mist. Soc. p. 2S5-G. 

t Supposed to be" 9,600 square miles." — 1 Doug. p. 389. =80 by 120 miles. 
I Siilliran, p. 304, 



568 THE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1679. outrage upon every principle of civil liberty. — But other reasons 
and arguments, appearing to be more satisfactory, prevailed. For 
the royal charter to Sir Ferdinando, passed unto him, " his heirs 
and assigns," the jurisdiction as well as the property. Massachu- 
setts in her corporate capacity, had by lawful purchase, become 
the assignee and lord proprietor of the Province ; as Lord Balti- 
more was of Maryland, and the Penns of Pennsylvania. Still, 
it was plain the Province must be governed according to the pro- 
visions and stipulations in the charter — not as a constituent of 
Massachusetts colony; for, 1. she by the purchase had recog- 
nized a right in Gorges -, and 2. the north-easterly limits of her 
own territory, had, by a late decision in 1677, been restricted to 
an imaginary line, three miles from the mouth and north bank of 
the Merrimack.* 

A. D, 1680. It was determined, therefore, by the General Court, in Febru- 

February. i r^- t-i t 

Gorges' ary, 1680, to assume the royal charter granted to Su' t erdmando 
sumed. Gorges ; and in conformity with its provisions, to frame a civil 
administration over the Province. For this purpose, the general 
oversight and direction of its affairs were, by a legislative ordin- 
ance, committed to the Governor and Board of Colony Assistants. 
The government they established, was this — to have a Provin- 
cial President, chosen by them from year to year, and two legis- 
lative branches ; — the upper one was to be a Standing Council 
of eight members, and the other to be a popular delegation, con- 
sisting of deputies chosen by towns as in Massachusetts. The 
Council, who were to be appointed by the Board of Assistants, and 
continue in office during their pleasure, were to be the judges of 
a Supreme Court, and magistrates through the Province. The 
legislative bod);- was to meet at least once in every year. 
^, The Board of Assistants then proceeded to elect a President, 

Thomas -t ' 

Oaiiforih P. ^^(j ^^q choice fell upon Thomas Danforth, at that time Deputv- 
Governor of Massachusetts. f He was a gentleman of handsome 
talents, and good education, and at this period, possessed a great 
weight of character. He was born in England, A. D. 1622, 
came over in early life, and before 1679, the first year of his 



*4 Mass Rec. p 173-193. 

j As Mr, Danforth's residence was in Cambridge (INlass,), w)ien he was 
absent from Maine, liis place was supplied by a Deputy-President, pro 
tcflfipore. B. Pendleton, and J. D.iris were Deputy-Presidents. 



Chap, xxi.] of MAINE. 559 

being Deputy-Governor, he had been twenty years an Assistant. A. i). icso. 
Besides being president of the board of Commissioners of the 
United Colonies, he had previously for several terms presided 
in the County Court of Yorkshire. His wisdom, firmness and 
prudence, qualified him to conduct difficult public affairs with 
success ; and his uncompromising opposition to arbitrary power, 
and his high-minded republican politics, rendered him preem- 
inent in popular estimation. He held the office of President of 
Maine, till the dissolution of the Massachusetts charter.* 

To assist President Danforth in organizing and arranging the Province 
civil affairs of the Province, and holding a term of the judicial fnem. 
courts, the present season, the Board of Assistants, after the Gen- 
eral Election in May, appointed Samuel Novvel, a special commis- 
sioner. He was an Assistant this year, and the next, he was 
appointed against his will, to the office of joint agent with Mr. 
Stoughton to England. He had been a minister of the gospel, f 
was a man of reflection and good sense, and in politics, strongly 
attached to the high republican party of his times. 

Several obstacles lay in the way of their progress, which the 
General Court found it difficult to remove. There were royal- 
ists and episcopalians in the Province and elsewhere, always com- 
plaining to the crown against Massachusetts, and never willing to 
be her subjects ; and the king himself was still pursuing his de- 
mand of the country. In his address to the General Court, about 
this time, he says, — ' It is marvellous that you should exclude 
' from office, gentlemen of good lives and estates, merely because 
' they do not agree with you in the congregational way ; espe- 
' cially since liberty of conscience was the principal motive of 
* your first emigration. Nor is this the only thing to be noticed. 
' The title-deeds of Maine, we expect will be surrendered to the 
' crown, on the advancement of the purchase-money and interest* 



* He was after this among the most prominent opponents to Governor 
Andros' administration, and acted as president of the Couneil, wlien the 
people took the g^overnmcnt from him. Restored to the office of Deputy- 
Governor, on the re-assumption of colonj' autiiorities, he continued to 
hold it till the chart3r of William and Mary ; under which, in 1695, he was 
appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Judicature. He 
died at his seat in Cambridge, A. D. 1699, aged 77. His only son, Samuel, 
a graduate at Harvard, died in England, 1771.— See the Biog. Dictionaries 
of Rev. Dr. Alien and Rev. Dr. Elliot. Article Danforth Thomas. 

t I Hutch. Coll. p. 53i5. 



560 THE HISTORY [VoL. K 

A. D. 16S0. < We likewise mention to you, " the acts of trade and navigation," 
' passed A. D. 1672, for the whole of New-England, and inform 

* you, we have appointed under them, our trusty and well beloved 

* subject, Edward Randolph, collector, surveyor, and searcher.'* 

Randolph, the evil genius of the country, who first visited it 

Randolph's ' ' ° •' . 

repreaeiiia- four ycars before, was already here, engaged in the exercise of 
his office. He was the emissary of the Lords Commissioners of 
foreign plantations, to whom he made long and exaggerated 
statements. He early undertook the vindication of Edmund An- 
dros, in all his measures as well at Sagadahock as New- York. 
To his judicious management, Randolph imputed the late peace 
with the Indians ; and represented, that if, according to his ad- 
vice, the Mohawks had been sooner introduced into the public 
service, the war might have been shortened and many of its ca- 
lamities averted. He even presumed to assert that the people of 
Massachusetts, especially " the Bostoners," had a strong antipa- 
thy to Sir Edmund, and at one time had greatly interrupted the 
trade between that colony and New-York ; and that while they 
were giving countenance to an illicit trade with the Acadians, 
they were exciting among the eastern inhabitants great jealousies to- 
wards that people, and encouraging a most shameful Indian traffic. 
Yes, said he, the Indians " to get their fill of rum and brandy, 
will strip themselves to their skins ;" and then the depositaries of 
the law will whip and fine them for drunkenness. In a word, 
Massachusetts, according to his representations, was coining 
money, making laws averse to those of the mother country, pur- 
chasing dominions, and aiming to be a free state. f 

To such aspersions, the colony rulers were ready to repeat, as 
often as it was expedient, the facts previously stated to the min- 
istry, through the medium of a letter addressed to the Earl of 
Sunderland, in which they say, ' our lives and treasures have 

* been unsparingly sacrificed to rescue Maine from the utter ruin 
' attempted by a barbarous and bloody enemy ; — sacrifices for 

* which we have never received nor requested of the Provincials 

* the least remuneration. We have from many of them, the ful- 
' lest assurances of their past satisfaction with our course, and of 

* their desire still to be connected with us, and their unwilling- 



* Letter, dated July 24, 1679, entire in Hutch. Coll. p. 619-22. 
fSee liandolpk's Jfarratine entire. — JTvtch, Coll. p. 477-511. 



Chap, xxi.] of maine. 561 

* ness to hazard a cliange : and, as we without the least shadow A.D. 1G8O1 

* of disloyalty obtained title to the Province, a twelvemonth after 
' his Majesty decided it to be in Gorges, it is our duty to favor 
' the inhabitants and provide them with a free systematic admin- 

* istration.'* 

Early in the year, Messrs. Danforth and Nowel repaired to Maine gov 
York ;f and so far as we can learn from the mutilated records 
and slender evidences preserved, the former proclaimed his au- 
thority, exhibited his commission of Provincial President, and 
being assisted by Mr. Nowel, now reported an administration of 
government consisting of a Council, and an Assembly of Deputies, 
to be elected by the sev^eral towns. J But there were evidently 
many malcontents and objectors. Some preferred to be a con- 
stituent of the Massachusetts government, rather than its colony. 
No less than 115 of the inhabitants, resident in difterent parts of 
the Province, subscribed and transmitted a petition to the king, 
complaining of a tax of £3,000 as an intolerable burden imposed 
on three towns only, viz. York, Kittery and Wells, to defray the 
charges of the late Indian war, and praying his INIajesty ' to re- 

* establish among them his royal authority, and allow them to 
' have a government of their own, according to the laws and con- 
' stitutions of the Province, till his pleasure be further known. '§ 

It had, however, been ascertained, that the principal objection 
to the paramount jurisdiction of Massachusetts, would arise from 
the eastern inhabitants of the Province. Many of them were 
holding lands under the Lygonian proprietors ; and might foster 
jealousies and fears of being disturbed in their possessions. They 
had, too, in the previous administration of justice, received some 
special favors ; and a few were bold enough to utter threats of 
resistance, unless their rights, interests and privileges, were first 
fully secured to them. 

Before the war, they were entertained with the prospect of a Nonh-Yar- 
new settlement eastward of Falmouth, under a grant from Sir "'°""'- 
Ferdinando Gorges, or his son ; and the revival of the enterprize 
was now desired, both by them and the surviving grantees. It 

* 4 Mass. Rec. p. 469, 489. 

t 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 296. — Perhaps tlie first meeting- was in March. 
I Elliot's Biog. Die. p. 146. 

^ 1 Coll. Jlaine Ilisl. Soc. p. 302— 3.— See there the names. 
Vol. I 58 



562 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1680. would be a frontier barrier eastward, against the Indians in 
the event of a rupture ; and would ofler many advantages inviting 
to settlers. The township was described as originally lying ten 
miles on the seacoast, or Magocook bay, from the south-eastern 
corner of Falmouth, and extending from the water, five miles in 
width on each side of JVestecustego* [now Royall's] river ; and 
thence northerly, or back from the coast, about nine or ten miles, 
according to the run of the river, or 2 and 1—2 leagues in di- 
rect course at right angles from the shore. As requested^ there- 
fore, the General Court at their spring session of this year, con- 
firmed it to Joseph Phippon and the other surviving proprietors..f 
In this act of confirmation, were reserved to Massachusetts, all 
the rights and royalties, belonging by the provincial charter to the 
Lord Proprietor. It also required the proprietors, or their legal 
representatives, to assign to the President of the Province, 300 
acres for a farm, in any part of the plantation, where he might 
make the selection ; to pay, after the first seven years, annual 
rent-charge of five beaver skins forever ; and to settle at least 
thirty families and a minister of the gospel within two years. 

The provincial charter itself was generally acknowledged to 
be excellent ; — containing more privileges, and less restrictions, 
than any other of similar character, which had received the royal 
signature. To conciliate the people of Casco bay. Governor 
Casco. Bradstreet addressed to them, from Boston, a letter, dated June 
June 4. 4th, in which he says — ' As we have become the proprietors of 
' the royal charter, and have concluded to settle a government in 
' the Province according to its provisions ;J any opposing meas- 
' ures will render the authors of them obnoxious to punishment. 
' Let the emergency be avoided ;' for " you shall have protec- 
" tion, and aii provision made for your security and improvement, 
" consistent with the principles of that charter and your greatest 

*•' 'Svvegustajoe." — 4 JIass. Rec. p. 373. 

fThe first set of trustees consisted of Bartholomew Gednc}', Joshua 
Scottow, Sylvanus Davis and Walter Gendell, appointed, July 13, 1681. — 
^V. Yarmouth Rtcords. 

I One account states, that the provincial government was settled, March 
17th, 1680, and warrants issued for the choice of Deputies to the " General 
Assembly," to be holdcu at York ; and the session commenced there, 
March 30th, 1680.— Perhaps the eastern towns were not then reconciled, 
nor represented. 



Chap, xxi.] of MAINE. 563 

" good ," — and to close, we, " your loving friends, commend you A. D. 1680, 
-' to the guidance and protection of Almighty God." 

To prevent, therefore, the usurpations and encroachments of ^"S"?*' , 

' '■ Foi I Loyal 

Governor Andros, as well as to quiet the people of Casco,* and 
settle a government through the Province, President Danforth, 
Mr. Nowel and Mr. Nathaniel Saltonstall, another Assistant, em- 
barked in August, from Boston, with sixty soldiers, in a ship and 
sloop, and proceeded to " Fort Loyal,'''' then commanded by 
Capt. Edward Tyng. This was a public garrison, erected on 
the southerly shore of Casco-neck, [in Portland], in pursuance 
of a legislative order, passed four years before ;f and now fur- 
nished with munitions of war. Here President Danforth and the 
two Assistants, as special commissioners, had 'a consultation with 
the inhabitants, in which they became acquainted with their wants 
and wishes, and made to them a proposition for convoking a Gen- 
eral Assembly of Deputies from the whole Province, at York, in 
the ensuing spring, agreeably to the provisions of the charter. 

But according to one account, the freeholders in the Province 
of Maine, being summoned, met at York, March 17th, 1680 ; istraiion""^' 
and a commission, under the seal of the Governor and Council of 
Massachusetts, was openly exhibited and read, thereby declaring 
themselves the lawful assigns of Sir Ferdinando Gorges ; and 
giving notice, that they had erected and constituted a Court and 
Council, and deputed Thomas Danforth, Esq. for the first year, 
President : — " to the end that the above named Province might 
" be protected in the enjoyment of their just rights and privileges, 
" according to the rules of his Majesty's royal charter, granted 
" unto the above named Sir F. Gorges, Kt." Warrants for the 
choice of deputies to the General Assembly to be holden at York, 
were issued for a session in March, or perhaps June. Major 
Bryan Pendleton was appointed Deputy-President, and author- 
ized with the assistance of other members of the Council, or ~ 
Magistrates, to hold intermediate terms of the Court. Pendleton 
was among the earliest colonists of Massachusetts, and settled in 
Watertown, which he represented six years in the General 
Court of Massachusetts; and in 164G, he commanded the mili- 
tary corps, since denominated the ' Ancient and Honorable Ar- 
tillery Company' in Boston. He resided in Portsmouth several 



* 1 Hutch. Hist, p. 297. | See ante, 1676, chap. xx. 



564 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. I). 1680. years ; from which he removed to Saco, in 1665. He signed a 
petition to the king as Deputy-President, in 1 680, praying ' for aid 
in rebuilding the towns wasted and desolate,' by reason of the 
late Indian war. He died soon afterwards. He was succeeded 
in the office of Deputy-President, by John Davis of York, Dep- 
uties were chosen from year to year by towns, and annual sessions 
of the General Assembly were holden at York, for five or six 
years,* 

The subject of the new township, among other thmgs, was 
presented to the President and Commissioners ; and the follow- 
ing order, passed at their adjournment, shews in some degree the 
power they w'eie authorized to exercise. — ' At Fort Loyal in 
Bept. 22. ' Falmouth, 22d Sept. 1680; it is ordered, for the further en- 
rooutii. ' ' largement and encouragement of the settlement on Westecuste- 
' go river' — " that the waste lands lying between the said grant 
" and Falmouth, shall be added to the township ; and also an 
" Island lying between the sea and said township, called New- 
" Damariscove. It is also hereby ordered and declared, that the 
" name of the said plantation shall be JVorth-Yarmouth.,\ 

" Pr. Thomas Danforth, President" 

* An election sermon was preached at the commencement of each an- 
nual session ; the one in 1683, being' delivered by Rev. Shubael Dummer 
of York. It seems some towns sent two deputies, and some one, to the 
General Assembl3', Baco sent, in 1681, John Harmon ; in 1GC2, John 
Davis; 1C33, Benjamin Blackman ; in 1684, John Sarg-ent; and in 16S5, 
Gcorg-e Turfrey. But it appears that Mr. Davis, ho\vcver, was " disac- 
cepted as a scandalous person," — for by a colony ordinance of Massachu- 
setts, the spirit of which seems to have been transferred hither, a deputy 
must be ' sound in the orthodox faith — and not scandalous in conversation.' 

f This is the 8th town in the Province, (a) Ii,s liame was taken, proba- 
bly, from Yarmouth, iu England. The town records begun, A. D. 1680, 
\\st vol. folio, 324 fages^ and carefully preserved, contain many valuable 
facts. Three towns have since been taken from North-Yarmouth ; — viz, 
Freeport, A. D. 1789; Pownal, in 1808; and Cumberland, in 1821,— S^e 
Sullivan, p. 182, 191. — An early settler, was John Mare, at a point now in 
Brunswick, called " Mare-point." William Royall came over about 1630 • 
made a purchase of Gorges, 1643 ; in 1G53 he settled on the east side of 
Westecustego river, with J, Cousins, R. Bray, and John Maine. A fort 
■was early built near the mouth of Royall's river, for the accommodation 



(a) Jlppledore [sec A. D. 1661] was properly the Sth town established ; 
but it seems not to have retained its name in subsequent years, and there» 
fore its number is omitted in the enumeration. 



Chap, xxi.] of imaine. 565 

The report of the President and Commissioners, the general a. i). iGsi. 
affairs of the Province, and the expediency of maintaining a •'^"'■"'"■y 7. 
garrison at Fort Loyal, were referred to a committee of seven garnsoiied. 
members, at the January session of the General Court, in 1681 ; 
when it was resolved that a garrison, well established, would be an 
asylum and safeguard of the people on any sudden incursions of 
the Indians, and also greatly encourage husbandmen " to replant 
themselves in this town and the vicinity ;" and that it ought to 
be maintained and continued at the charge of Massachusetts, 
provided the people of INIaine would furnish and pay six soldiers 
to man it.* 

Next, a form of government, like that under Sir Ferdinando Form of 
Gorges, was fully established, and a civil administration organ- m niaii.c. 
izcd, under a commission from the Governor and Council of 
Massachusetts. — It seems the first Provincial Council, consisting 
ot eight members, were Bryan Pendleton, Charles Frost, "^j*® Couu- 
Francis Hook, John Davis, Joshua Scottow, Samuel 
Wheelwright, and John Wincoln ; — Edward Rishworth 
was Secretary of the Province, or Recorder ; and either he or 

and defence of the inhabitants. But Ihey were compelled b}- the Indians, 
in 1676 and in 168S, to abandon the settlement and tlie fort. The town 
was revived in 1680, and ajain in 1722, and resettled. — [See post, A. D. 
1722.] — In the second year of the Spanish, or fifth Indian tear, A. D, 1745, 
the inhabitants suffered severely by the savag'e cnemj'. Of the persons; 
killed, were IMcfcsrs. Greely and Eaton. The house of John Maine, at 
Flying--point, was broken up and a child killed in its mother's arms. This 
point is S. E. of Harraseeket river, in Freeport; and three or four miles 
eastward of the settlement on the westerly side of Royall's river, towards 
its mouth. Subsequent to the capture of Canada and the close of the In^ 
dian wars, the town has had a flourishing- growth ; so that when it was di- 
vided, in 1789, it contained upwards of 3,000 inhabitants ; having; at that 
time a greater number tlian any other town in tlie county of Cumberland. 
The number in Freeport, in 1790, was 1330. The sole minister of North- 
Yarmouth, at this time, was Rev. T. Oilman. But on the 26th of June, 
1794, there was set off from his Society the JVorth-west Congregational So- 
ciety, and a meeting-house was built ; and on the 20th of June, 1797, a Bap. 
tist Sodctij was incorporated fur North- Yarmouth and Freeport ; and El- 
der Thomas Green was settled. There are several Islands wliich are at- 
tached to North-Yarmouth ; especially Great and Little Gebeag. It was 
first represented in the General Court, in 1742, by Cornelius Soule, be- 
tween 1745 and 1766, by Jeremiah Powell, and in 1773, by John Lewis. 
Mr. Powell was an eminent man of his age, and many years a member of 
the Council. * 4 Mass. Rec. p. 310. 



566 THE HISTORY [VoL, 1. 

A. I). 1G81. Edward Tyng* belonged also to the Council. Major Pendleton 
of Saco, was chosen Deputy-President — as stated by the former 
account. Mr. Ty7ig, a worthy, well-informed and active citizen, 
had been an Assistant in the legislature of Massachusetts. He 
married the daughter of Thaddeus Clark, an emigrant from Ire- 
land to the peninsula or neck, in 1663, — a respectable freeholder 
and resident on what has since been called Clark's point [in 
Portland.] In 1684, under President Danforth's administration, 
Clark was a deputy to the General Assembly, from Falmouth. 
Messrs. Frost and Hookf were both of Kittery ; the former had 
represented his town several years in the General Court, and was 
now appointed Commandant of the Regiment : — The latter, sup- 
posed to h^ve been the son of WilHam Hook, one of Gorges' 
first Council, was Province Treasurer. Mr. Davis lived at Y ork, 
had been the commanding officer of the militia company, and in 
the late war had distinguished himself as a brave and discreet 
soldier. He succeeded Pendleton as Deputy-President in the 
year 1681. Mr. »Sco?'i?ow, originally from Boston, dwelt in Scar- 
borough ;J — a name identified with the author of " the old man's 
tears."§ Mr. Wheelwright was a son of the Reverend founder 
of Wells, and afterwards a Councillor in the General Court of 
Massachusetts. Mr. Wincoln of Newichawannock settlement, 
in Kittery, captain of the town company, was a brave officer and 
had been several years a deputy to the General Court. — These 
Councillors, or Magistrates, called themselves Justices, as they 
held the judicial courts of the Province. 

A general In June, the President and Council met in General Assembly, 
with deputies or representatives from the several towns ; where, 
after political subjects were discussed, they at length agreed upon 
the following propositions, and adjourned to August. The num- 
ber in the lower branch this year is not ascertained ; but four 



* 10 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 181.— If Mr. Tyng was not of the Council 
the first year, he was afterwards Councillor. He was now Captain of the 
g-arrison, — It is supposed the members of the Council were designated by 
the Massachusetts Board of Assistants, who acted as substitutes for the 
orig-inal Lord Proprietor. 

f Hook now of Saco— thence removed to Kittery. 

X Capt. Scottow was a man of great public spirit, and did much towards 
defending Scarborough against the Indians. From his name is Scottow's 
Hill.— c/»fS. Letter nf Bev. J\'. Tilton. \ 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 300. 



Chap, xxi.] of Maine. 567 

years afterwards, there were 6 Councillors or Assistants; and 12 a.Di lesi. 
Deputies.* 

On the part of the Province, the articles ivere these: — 1. All Articles of 
public charges henceforth arising in the Province, whether for 
government, protection or otherwise, shall be defrayed out of the 
provincial treasury. 2. A garrison at Fort Loyal, sufficient for 
its defence, shall at all times be maintained at the charge of the 
Province, and the command of it belong to the Provincial Pres- 
ident. 3. All who have taken patents or leases from Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, his heirs or agents, shall perform their respective 
covenants to IMassachusetts, the present chief proprietor, in ac- 
knowledgement of her right to the soil. 4. All other inhabitants 
and residents shall severally pay into the provincial treasury for 
the use of the chief proprietor and the support of government, a 
stipend for himself and f^imily, in this ratio, — that is, if a person's 
single county or province tax be 2 shillings or less, he shall ren- 
der 1 shilling — if it exceed 2s. then 3s. will be exacted of him. 
5. To meet and defray the provincial expenditure, entitled " Pub- 
lic Charge,'''' all persons, all estates, and all landholders, whether 
resident within or without the Province, shall be equally rated 
and taxed ; \\'\\\\ the exemptions only of town commons and the 
public lands of the chief proprietor. — 6. On the part of Massa- 
chusetts ; — She must grant and guaranty unto the inhabitants of 
the Province, a full acquittal and discharge forever, of all claims 
and demands due for time past to the chief proprietor, by char- 
ter or otherwise ; and all townships and other tracts granted either 
by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Massachusetts, or their respective 
agents, and all streams and mill-sites which may be hereafter 
granted, must be forever exempt from rent, and every other 
claim of the chief proprietor, or Provincial President ; — ex- 
cepting when the defence of them shall render an assessment ne- 
cessary and reasonable. f 

The General Assembly of Maine, convening, August 18, pur- August is. 
suant to adjournment, concluded to adopt the propositions or Ar- sembiy 
tides ; and consequently they were tacked to a petition and trans- a,-i*icios.'^ 
mitted to the General Court of IMassachusetts. 

All the articles received the unqualified approbation of that 
body, to whieiii a few others were added. The Provincial Presi- 



Perhaps tlicijc measures belong- to the year IGBO. f ■* Mass. Rcc. 



568 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1G81. dent was directed to execute under his official signature and seal 
^''fr^ vcTb ^° landholders, legal confirmations of their real estates ; without 
ihe General ^ny Other cxactions at the time, than the said stipend of one or 

Court; and •' i^ 

others add- three shillings,* reserved to the chief proprietor, and paid in ac- 
knowledgement of the tenure or the grantor's right of soil. All 
suitable exertions shall be used for the people's safety and de- 
fence ;f and the revenue accruing to the chief proprietor shall 
be appropriated to those purposes. The arrears, due to the com- 
mander of Fort Loyal, to the soldiers, and the purveyor of sup- 
plies, shall be discharged by Massachusetts ; and after this, the 
charges of supporting the garrison shall be defrayed out of the 
revenue arising from the Indian trade. Every subsequent grant 
of lands was to be first made by the General Court, and then 
confirmed by deed of the Provincial President. 

Province In Completing the arrangement of public affairs, Francis Hook, 

'IVersurer's , t-. • m • i • i • i 

tiutics. the Provmce i reasurer, was appouited to receive the stipends, 
or tenure-fees on the confirmations of titles to landholders ; J to 
take possession of all houses and real estates, belonging to the 
chief proprietor or his agents, or to the late servants of Sir Fer- 
dinando Gorges, or his heirs ; to prosecute by law all such as 
improperly withhold possession ; and furthermore, with advice of 
the Provincial President, to make leases of such lands and tene- 
ments belonging to the chief proprietor, as may enure and be for 
his sole use and benefit. 
The I'resi- The President, according to the charter, had the power of ap- 
tcm.spow pQJjj^jj^g ^jjg commander of the garrison ; all militia officers; the 
marshal ; and all justices of the peace. § In the Council, which 
was the Supreme Court of Judicature, he presided ; and in the 

*The lands within Lygonia were confirmed by the President to boards 
of trustees, to be distributed according- to individual ownership ; the trus- 
tees of Nortli-Yarmoiith being- Jere. Dummer, Walter Gendell, John 
Royall, and John York ; those of Falmouth, 1684, were Edward Tj^ng, 
Sylvanus Davis, Mr. Gendell, Thaddeus Clark, Anthony Brackett, Dom. 
Jordan, George Brimhall, and Robert Lawrence. 

f A garrison was established at Fort Loyal, to be supported partly by 
Maine and partly by Massachusetts. For which purpose, all the saw-mills 
in the Province, 24 in number, were taxed about J|^92, lOs. 

I President Danforlh was atithorized, May 11, 1681, by an instrumcnJ 
under the Colony seal, to make those confirmations. 

§ Justices were appointed in towns, where no Councillor dwelt. Mr. 
JJlackman was a Justice of the peace in Paco. 



Chap, xxi.] of .Maine. 569 

enactment of laws, his approbation was requisite. Tiiough after A. D. 16GI. 
the first year, the towns were represented in the General Assembly 
by Deputies, and full powers for the regulation of the affairs of 
the Province appear to have been committed to the legislative 
body ; its proceedings were of a very mixed character. Laws 
were made and enforced ; legal questions settled j letters of 
administration granted, and wills proved ; roads laid out, mili- 
tary commissions issued ; provisions made for the public safety in 
case of war ; the religious affairs of towns superintended ; and in 
short, every subject of public and many of private interest, ac- 
cording to the usage and example of Massachusetts, came under 
the cognizance of the Court. One act or order prohibited the 
sale of spirituous liquors to the Indians under a penalty of 20s. 
for every pint sold to them ; and also all trade with them with- 
out license from government was forbidden. The charter was 
neither silent nor definite upon the subject of religion, in its let- 
ter only, paying special deference to the Episcopal Communion ; 
hence the Provincial Rulers were actuated by the orthodox prin- 
ciples prevalent in Massachusetts. A single case will shew the 
spirit of the times. 

The Baptists made their first appearance in Maine, A. D. 1681 ; The Bap- 
when several persons m Ivittery, cmbracnig then- tenets, were cuted. 
baptized by immersion. One of their brethren, William Screven, 
manifesting great zeal in religion, became their leader in worship 
and devotion. He was born in England, A. D. 1629. Emigrat- 
ing to Kittery in early life, he married Bridget Cutts, and the 
fruits of the union were eleven children. His talents were natu- 
rally of a splendid order. He possessed a lively imagination, 
a glowing heart, and was a good English scholar. Edified 
and enlivened by his rare gifts and ardent piety, his religious 
associates gave him testimonials of fair character and full com- 
munion ; representing him to be in the eye of charity, one whom 
God had qualified and furnished with the gifts and graces of 
his Holy Spirit, to open and apply the good word, which through 
the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ, might be by him made ef- 
fectual and usefid ; — commending him to the fellowship of their 
Baptist brethren in Boston. In his visit to them they encouraged 
him in his labors of love and zeal ; and committed him to the 
Vol.. I. 59 



570 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1682. faith and fellowship of the saints, wherever God in his Provi- 
dence might call him to exercise his abilities. 

The proselytes of this sect, when their sentiments became 
known, excited so much notice, that Mr. Hooke, one of the mag- 
istrates, or Provincial Council,* and Mr. Woodbridge, minister of 
the parish, sent a summons to all who had attended a Baptist 
meeting, requiring them to appear and answer for their offence. 
They presented themselves accordingly, when the magistrate 
threatened them with a fine of 5s., if they presumed again to 
offend in that way. 
Au-rust. ^^^'- Screven, on returning, was likewise summoned before the 

ven fined' ^rencral Assembly, at their August session ; and after being ex- 
amined upon the subject of unlawful preaching and holding re- 
ligious meetings, he was fined £10, for his past offences ; and 
ordered never more to have any public religious exercises what- 
ever, at his own house or elsewhere, especially on the Sabbath. 

His refusal to submit to the injunction, was deemed a contempt 
of his Majesty's authority, and the Court awarded sentence 
against him ; — that he in future forbear from his turbulent and 
contentious practices ; — give bond for his good behavior ; — and 
stand committed till the judgment of Court be comjAied with. 
August 17. August 17, 1682. Edward Rishworth, Recorder. 

But against all opposition, a church of eight male members 
was embodied, Sept. 25 ; and the next year, they with Mr. Scre- 
ven and their families removed to Cooper-river in South-Caro- 
lina. f This is said to have been the only instance of religious 
persecution within the limits of this State. 
Scarbo- "^^ ^^^^^ ^'"^® ^^^^ Settlements in the Province -had greatly re- 

rough, vived.J Scarborough, for instance, which had been depopulated 
in the late war and most of its houses reduced to ashes, con- 
tained, in 1681, fifty-six ratable polls, manyjarge fields and eighty 

"^Tlie Deputies or Representatives in the General Assembly, in 1682, were 
JVirholas Sliapleigh from Kiltcry ; Abraham Preble, and John Puchlinglon, 
York ; Johii Harmon, TLud Benjamin Blackman, Saco ; and Anthony Brackett, 
Falmouth. Georg-e Turfrey was Deputy for Saco ; and Georg-e Inger- 
soll for Falmouth, A D, 1685. f Grecnleaf's Ecc. Hist. p. 240—1. 

J There were at this time in the Province of Maine, 24 saw-mills ; viz. 
in Kittery 5, and Quampcjan 1 ; in York 3 ; in Wells 6 ; in Cape Por- 
poise 3 ; ill Saco 3 ; and in Casco 'J, including that of tnlvanus Davis, and 
one at Prcsumpscot. — Sec ante, p. 568, [note f). 



Chap, xxi.] of MAINE. 571 

cows. The town records were commenced the same year ; a a. D. 1682. 
tax of 2s. Id. was assessed, on every man, in 1682, "for the 
Lord ;" and in 1684,* the land-titles were confirmed by Pres- 
ident Danforth, to Capt. Scottow and other trustees for propri- 
etors, — according to the practice in all the Lygonian towns. f 

Besides the preceding confirmations of land-titles ; several Grants of 
tracts of a thousand acres were granted ; namely, one lot at Mer- ^" ' 
rjconeag-neck to the college ; one to the colony-treasurer, Mr. 
Russell; House Island, to Mary INIountjoy ; and Swan Island, 
claimed under an Indian purchase, was confirmed to Humphrey 
Davy. 

Large tracts of woodland, being unproductive to individual Woodianrf 
proprietors, had never hitherto been taxed. But their gradual '^' ^^^^' ' 
rise in value, particularly in the vicinity of settlements, the occa- 
sional appearance of speculators, and the burdens of the late 
war, wrought a change in public opinion ; and the General Court 
ordered an annual tax of 2s. to be assessed on every lot of 100 
acres, and collected by the marshal, provided the land was ly- 
ing without the limits of a corporate town. This probably orig- 
inated the practice which prevailed to the time of the Separa- 
tion, of taxing unimproved lands, at a lower rate according to 
their value, than any other property. J 

It was auspicious to the Province at this time, that she was sep- a u. i683. 
arated from Massachusetts, harassed as that colony was by her uTnfort'h 
persevering enemies. Even twenty of her ablest and most pop- [lersecuied 
ular statesmen. President Danforth being one, were not only de- 
nounced by Randolph for their republican patriotism and politics, 
as basely factious : but they had moreover been pursued by him, 
two years, in articles^ of impeachment or accusation before the 
throne ; charging them with high misdemeanors and offences. 
With them was also identified the charter of Massachusetts, 
which was assailed with so much force and virulence, that the 
General Court directed their agents in England, to resign the 
title-deeds of Maine to the crown, provided any such expedient 

*Rcv.J^. Tilloiis JIS. Letter.— A dispute about setting Ihe^inecling- 
liouse was referred to E. Tyng and F. Hooke, two of tlie Council. 
*- t The population of the Province at this lime might be 6 or 7,000 ; New- 
Hampshire, contained 4,000 ; 4 townships ; 450 lailitia.— Chalmers, p. 404. 

X 4 Mass. Rec. p. 410—11, § See the articles Hutch. Coll. p. 526. 



572 THE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A.D. 1683. could preserve from wreck the colony charter — yet never to con- 
cede a single right or principle it contained. 

But as unconditional submission was what the king imperiously 

October 23. required, the duties of the agents were at an end ; and Oct. 23, 

they arrived in Boston, closely followed by Randolph, with a 

writ of (^uo Warranto, sued out of the Chancery Court at 

Whitehall, July 20th, preceding. The precept was soon served 

upon the Governor, and, being returned, no facts, no arguments, 

no influence, could prevent a decree of Court against the charter. 

The royal prerogative was in truth at war with all charters. That 

June'iil."'*" of London itself had been assailed ; several others in England 

StcVof had been surrendered; and this of Massachusetts, on the 18th 

Massachu- f j \QQA was adjudged to be forfeited : and the liberties of 

setts vacal- ' j o ' 

®^' the colonies were seized by the crown. 

The decree was immediately succeeded by the appointment oi 
Colonel Kirke, Governor of Massachusetts, Plymouth, New- 
Hampshire and Maine ; — a man of more opprobrious memory, 
or more universally disgusting to the colonists, could not have 
been found.* But happily for them, before he was prepared to 

^^'iig's embark, a demise of the king happened, Feb. 16, 1685, which 
annulled the appointment ; and his brother and successor, James 
II. did not incline to renew it. 

That monarch was publicly proclaimed at York, in April. 
The Provincial Assembly of Maine, this year, consisted of the 
President, Deputy-President, six Councillors, Magistrates or Jus- 
tices, and twelve Deputies. f 

* To understand what sort of characters were sometimes selected to 
govern these colonies, a ^evf facts relative to Kirke may be mentioned. 
He had been latelj' willidrawn from the Tangier Fort, in Fez, on the Afri- 
can shore ; and entered the army on the crown's side against the Duke of 
Monmouth. At one time, in this civil war, he ordered 19 of his fellow cit- 
izens, taken in arms, to be hanged without the form of a trial. Once he 
ordered at every health he drank, a person to be hanged. A young maid, 
flinging herself at his feet, pleaded for the life of her brother, with all 
the persuasives which the charms of beauty and innocence bathed in tears 
could inspire, Not softened by love or clemency, yet influenced by de- 
sire, the tyrant promised to grant her request, provided she would be 
equally compliant to him. The maid yielded to the conditions. But after 
she had passed the night with him, the wanton savage showed her from 
his window her brother suspended on a gibbet. In the midst of dishonor, 
rage and despair, she became distracted. — C Hume, p. 216. 

t In 16S1, the General Assembly appointed .). Scottow, Edward Tyng, 



Chap, xxi.] of iviaine 573 

By thus vacating the colony charter of Massachusetts, theA.D. 1G84. 
ties which connected the Provincials of Maine with that ])eople 
were loosened ; and some of them took fresh encouragement in 
resuming purchases of the natives. A most important deed of p^j'^'^i'^ase. 
conveyance to Richard Wharton, was executed July 7, 1G84. 
by Warumbee, and five other Anasagunticook Sagamores. It 
was at first supposed, the conveyance included the lands between 
Cape Small Point and Maquoit, thence extending northward on 
the western side of the river Androscoggin four miles in width to 
the Upper Falls ;* and from these, five miles in width on the 
other side of the river, down to Merrymeeting bay, including the 
Islands upon the coast. The deed itself premised, that Thomas 
Purchas, the first possessor of the tract, settled near the center 
of it about GO years before, and obtained, according to report, a 
patent from England ;f that Nicholas Shapleigh had at some 
time purchased of the Sagamores Merryconeag peninsula, J Se- 
bascodegan Island, and the other Islands between Cape Small 
Point and Maquoit, and had died seized of them ; that the wid- 
ows and heirs of Purchas and Shapleigh, after a few reserva- 
tions, had joined in a quit-claim of the whole to Wharton ; and 
that the six Sagamore grantors, wishing to encourage him in set- 
tling there an English town, and in promoting the salmon and 
sturgeon fishery, as well as in consideration of the money they 
had received, did grant and confirm to him the aforedescribed 
tract. The deed was acknowledged by the Sagamores, July 21, 
before Edward Tyng, Esq. of Falmouth ; a formal possession hav- 
ing been given " at the Fort of Pejepscot," the day the deed was 
dated. But they reserved to themselves the use of all their an- 



Sylvanus Davis, Walter Gendell and Nathaniel Fryer, to .superintend tliO 
repairs of Fort-Loyal, and settle a chief officer over the garrison. 

'*' 1 Doug. Sum. p. 390. — He says Mr. Wharton was a mercliant of Bos- 
ton. He supposed the purchase embraced " 500,000 acres ;" and was five 
miles in width on the west sido of the river, and extended to a " certain fall 
in said river," — probably much above Lcwiston Falls ; thence, as Douglass 
erroneously states, " nortlieast, about 144 miles to Kennebec." It is true 
that subsequent proprietors have claimed as high as the Great Falls in 
Rumford. 

f See ante, A. U. 1636, 1C42. Post, A. D. 1713.— 1 Brit. Dom. Jf. Amer. 
p. 292. I But 1000 acres of this had just been g-ranled to Harv. Col. 



674 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1(584 cient planting grounds, and the accustomed privileges of hunting 

•^"'^'- and fishing. 

This has been denominated " ^Ae Pejepscot Purchase;^'' and, 
owing to the indefinite description of the boundaries in the deed, 
and to the long controverted question, what '■^ falls" were intend- 
ed ; — ^no other proprietary purchase or patent in the State, has 
caused so much discussion and controversy. For should the 
tract be bounded westward on North-Yarmouth, and restricted 
by diagonal lines, extending easterly and westerly from a point at 
the head of the second [or Lewiston] Falls, the purchase em- 
braced only the territory of eight or nine townships, perhaps in 
all 200,000 acres ;* less than half what Mr. Wharton might ex- 
pect the purchase to contain. 

Danforih's It is evident, that under the presidency of Mr. Danforth, a legis- 

admiiiistra- , . i , , , i • i ii • 

tion. lative body had annual meetuigs ; and government, as well as jus- 

tice, was satisfactorily administered for six years. f To maintain 
a garrison at Fort Loyal, which appears to have been an object 
of general concern, a tax was laid upon all the saw-mills in the 
Province. In this way there were raised, by the year, £93 ; 
and at a session of " the Council and Representatives of the sev- 
" eral towns, assembled at York, May 24th, 1 682," they agreed 
with Anthony Brackett, for one year, to take the charge and com- 
mand of the garrison, furnish provisions, ammunition, and every 
necessary article, and man it with six men in summer and four in 
the winter, for £160. Another important subject was that of 
confirming the land-titles, as mentioned in the 4th article of set- 
tlement; for which purpose. President Danforth, in 1684, con- 
veyed to several boards of trust, the townships of Scarborough, 
Falmouth and North-Yarmouth ; reserving to the chief proprie- 



* A tier of towns on each side of Androscogg-in, viz, on the west side, 
Harpswell, Brunswick, Durham, Danville, [lately Pejepscot] Poland, and 
part of Minot : — on the eastern side, Topsliam, part of Bowdoin, Lisbon, 
and Lewiston. — See Slalement of Kenncheck Claims, p. 8-11. 

Jfole. — Possession was g-iven by the Sagamores to John Blaney and his 
wife, who administered on the estate of Purchas ; and they, for the heirs, 
passed the seizin to \Vharton. 

I Deputies from Falmouth to the General Assembly of the Province, ia 
1601 and 2, Anthony Brackett ; in 1684, Thaddcus Clark ; and in 1683 and 5, 
Georg-e Ingersoll. — Saco, in 1633, Benjamin Blackman ; in' 1684, John Sar- 
gent ; and in 1685, George Turfrey. 



Chap, xxi.] of maine. 575 

tor a small quit-rent. The trustees then proceeded to make A.d. 1C85. 
surveys and assignments to settlers and proprietors according to 
their just claims and rights ; whereby they became quieted both 
as to titles and lines. 

Great precaution was used in the establishment of new planta- 3'i?"^|'**, . 
tions, by reason of the fearful apprehensions conceived of another ^'^"''■ 
rupture with the Indians. For in the spring of 1685,* they dis- 
closed unusual restlessness, also some symptoms of malignity. 
Their jealousies were moreover disturbed by a terrific story seut 
into circulation, that ' two hundred Mohawks were coming to ex- 
' terminate the eastern Indians. 'f So much did John Hagkins, 
Sagamore of the Penacooks, believe the report, that he was in-' 
duced to address a letter to the Governor of New-Hampshire, 
May 15, praying for protection, and adding, if you never let 
" JMohogs'^ kill us, we'll be submissive to your ivorship forever. 

Indeed, a renewal of hostilities was from month to month August 13, 
greatly and justly feared. Francis Hook sent a letter from his 
residence in Kittery, August 13, to Capt. Barefoot at Portsmouth, 
representing to him, from information received by a foot-post, 
that there were just grounds for apprehending some sudden de- 
sign of the " heathen" against the inhabitants. ' They have 

* lately,' said he, ' been guilty of affronts in the vicinity of Saco, 
' threatening the people and killing their dogs ; and within the 

* last three days, they have gathered all their corn, and moved off 
" pack and baggage." " A word to the wise is sufficient." " The 
" proverb is, forewarned, forearmed." ' IMyself and the rest in 
' commission with us are setting ourselves in a posture of defence ; 
' and to-morrow our Council meet to consider what is needful to 
' be done.' 

But by timely and energetic measures, which eventuated in a a Tiraiy 
treaty, the attack or mischief was averted. The Abenaques Tribes"*^ 
tribes were requested to attend the negotiation ; and on the 8th ^^P' ^' 

* In 1685, the General Assembly ordered, that Fort Loyal be the g^aol 
or prison for the four associate towns of Saco, Scarborough, Falmouth and 
Nortli-Yarinouth, and that " the justices in the respective towns, direct 
tlieir mittimuses to the keeper of the gaol" there, — ' the charges for set- 

* tling and keeping the same, to be paid from the common or Provincial 
' treasury.' — Willis'' Hist. Portland., p. ISl. 

+ 1 Belknap's N. H. p. 3:54. 3!fi. 



576 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 16S5. of September, the treaty was concluded and signed by Lieut. 
Gov. Walter Barefoot and three of his Council, on the part of 
New-Hampshire ; and Francis Hook and John Davis, two of 
the Provincial Councillors of Maine ; also at different times by 
twelve Sagamores and Chiefs* from Penacook, Saco, Andros- 
coggin and Kennebeck. By this it was agreed, 1. that there 
should be lasting friendship between the English and the Indians ; 
2. that if either harm the other, the English shall be tried and 
punished by a Justice of the Peace, and the Indians by their 
Sagamore ; 3. that whenever any Indian shall manifest designs 
of mischief, the other Indians inhabiting these Provinces shall 
give notice to the English and assist them ; 4. that all the tribes, 
while in friendship, shall be protected against the Mohawks ; and 
5. that whenever the Indians shall remove with their wives and 
children, without giving timely notice to the English, they may 
be apprehended, or war may be made upon them till the Saga- 
mores render satisfaction. f 
Colony of This cvcnt was rendered more important by occurring amidst 
settsr*^' "' ^ revolution in the civil affairs of Massachusetts ; as her destiny 
would probably have an essential influence upon the political state 
of the Provincials in Maine. Symptoms of an expiring adminis- 
tration in that colony were apparent through the season. The 
charter was a dead letter ; and it was even doubtful, if an act 
passed this year, giving the magistrates a chancery jurisdiction, 
was valid. 
A D 1GS6 ^^ ^^^^ organization^ of the government, under the declining 
Ne^w admin- ^'^^^"^^ of the colony charter, May 12, 1686, only 36 Deputies 
istraiion. ^qq^ their seats ; and the arrival of a commission from the king to 
Joseph Dudley, put an end to the General Court, on the third 
J. Dudley ^^y of ^^^ session.^ Mr. Dudley was a native of Massachusetts, 
son to the first Deputy-Governor of the colony, a graduate of Harv. 
college, in 1665, and an Assistant as early as 1676 : — He possess- 

* Kancamag-us, [John Hag-kins or Hawkins] ; Wahowah, or Hopehood, 
Kenneheck ; Natambomct of Saco, and others. 

t 1 Bclk. N. H. App. p. .348. 

J Hutch. Coll. p. 543. — Bill of nomination. 

\ Mr. Danforth was now removed from the office of President in Maine and 
a Court substituted, which was composed of Hon. William Stoughton, Judge ; 
John Usher and Edward Tyng, Esqrs. Assistants or Cotmcillors ; and a Jus- 
tice v.as appointed in each town. The Court sat at York in October. 



President; 



Chap, xxi.] OF MAINE. 577 

ed eminent talents, and his aspiring ambition seldom met with its a.d. icsg. 
equal. 

He was commissioned President of Massachusetts, New- 
Hampshire, Maine and Rhode-Island ; and to assist him in the 
administration of government, fifteen mandamus Councillors were 
appointed by the crown. Edward Randolph was one ; and the 
two designated for Maine were Edward Tyng, and Bartholomew 
Gedney.* Though the latter lived in Salem, he had property, 
frequent agencies, and occasional residence in Maine. 

To the President and Council were committed the power of 
managing and directing all the political and judiciary affairs of 
these several colonies, without any house of deputies, or other 
co-ordinate branch of government. A majority of the Council con- 
stituted the Superior Court, which was to set three times in the 
year, probably in Boston, for the whole country. The County 
Courts were to be holden by a member of the Council, assisted 
by associate justices, commissioned for the purpose ; from whose 
decisions appeals were allowable to the Council. The courts of 
probate were to be holden for Massachusetts at Boston, by the 
President himself as ordinary ; and in each other Colony or 
Province, now considered a county, by a surrogate or substitute. 
Juries were to be "pricked" in each county, by the marshal 
and one justice of the peace, from a list given them by the select- 
men of the towns. f 

In general, all legal usages were observed. But Dudley's ad- ^'"'"^^"h 
ministration was short, and though unpopular, it was not grievous, ^o^'- An- 
It lasted only four months and 26 days ; when he was superseded 
by Sir Edmund Andros. This man arrived at Boston, Dec. 20 ; 
and on the same day published his commission. He possessed 
a despotic disposition, and was strongly attached to the interests of 
the crown. Between 1674, and 1682, a period of eight years,f 
he had been ducal Governor of New-York and Sagadahock ; — 
an office wherein his temper, imperious manners, and arbitrary 

* The other members of the Council were, William Stoiighton, Simon 
Bradstreet, John Pynchon, Peter Bulklej', Nathaniel Saitonstall, John 
Fitz Winthrop, Wait Winthrop, Jolin Usher, Jonathan Tyng', Robert 
Mason, Richard Wharton, Dudley Bradstreet and John Hinckes. — When 
the board was full, twenty eight — Elioty p. 31. 

+ I Hutch. Hist. 316—1 Bclk. N. H. p. 186. 

\ 1 Doug. p. 430 — He says " seven years." 
Vol. I. 60 



578 THE HISTORY [VoL. l. 

A. D. 1686, politics, had rendered his name odious to many in the former 
Province ; and his character unpopular, among all classes in 
Massachusetts and Maine. Nevertheless, his master, James II. 
had now greatly enlarged his political sphere, by giving him a 
commission of Captain-General and Governor in Chief, over all 
his colonial dominions in New-England, without excepting Ply- 
mouth or Connecticut. 



Chap, xxii.] of Maine. 679 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The French in Nova Scotia and at Penobscot — Dutch there — Um- 
brage taken by theFrench Governor — Dutch seize upon Penobscot 
— Expelled — Andros succeeded by Dungan — He appoints Com- 
missioners to Sagadahock — Their measures — Andros commissioned 
Governor of New-England — His administration — He plunders 
Castine at ' Biguyduce — Has a parley with the Indians at Pemct- 
quid — Orders the fort there to be repaired — His treatment of the 
Indians — His eastern expedition — Garrisons established in Maine 
•^Andros and his adherents thrown into prison — Council of Safety 
— Government under the Colony Charter resumed — James II. ab- 
dicates the throne — Williain and Mary proclaimed — Government 
of Maine reorganized — War bettoeen France and England — 
Policy of the Canadians — Nova Scotia subdued by Phips — His 
expedition to Canada — First paper money — Charter of William 
and Mary. 

To preserve the country of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, against a. d. 1670, 
the incursions of adventitious invaders, the French after a repos- Nova 
session,* estabHshed forts at Port-Royal, Chedabucto, St. John's, 
La Have and Penobscot. Mons, Mourillon de Bourg, acted as 
Governor ; a profitable trade was pursued in furs, peltry and fish ; 
French visitors and traders were multiplied ; and the Jesuit mis- 
sionaries labored with renewed zeal to christianize the natives. 
In other respects the country, for several years, was treated with 
great inattention ;f Canada appearing to afford the principal at- 
tractions to the enterprize of the French. Meanwhile, the whole 
coast between Penobscot and St. Croix remained untouched by 
the arts of culture and improvement, and almost without inhab- 
itants. 

The Dutch had manifested early andvgreat desires to share thexjie Dutch 
North American coast with the English and French. Commer- 
cial in their pursuits, they knew how to set an adequate value 
upon water privileges ; and after their treaty with England, A. D. 



* Ante, A. D. 1668-9-1670, in Chap, xv.— Hutch. Coll. p. 489. 

t 40 Univerial Hitt. p. 9.— Population only 900 whiter in NoTa Scotia. 



fJgO THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D, 1674. 1674, being still at war with France, they despatched an armed 
ship to seize upon the fort at Penobscot. In the capture, there 
was a loss of men on both sides.* The success was not pursu- 
ed, — the enterprize offered no considerable gains, — and the pos- 
session acqnii-ed was not long retained. 

The country was open and inviting to various adventurers. 
The Indian trade, masting and fishing, offered encouragements 
to enterprize ; and several small vessels were employed in a 
friendly intercourse and trade between the Acadians, and the peo- 
ple of New-England. The cod-fishery upon the Acadian coast 
was free : and nothing interrupted the subsisting harmony and 
mutual correspondence, enjoyed by de Bourg, and the Inhabit- 
ants of New-Hampshire, Maine and the Duke's Province, until 
the commencement of king Philip's war.f 

A.D. 1G75. By enquiries how the Indians could be so generally equipped 
and supplied with arms and means for assailing the English ; it 
was sufficiently ascertained that they procured guns and ammuni- 
tion of the Acadian traders, probably with the Governor's appro- 
bation ; and the English colonists, from this circumstance, ven- 
tured to accuse, or at least suspect him of instigating the Indians 

DelWg to hostilities. De Bourg, affecting to be highly incensed towards 

lakes af- °\ ^ . . 

front. the authors of these surmises and invectives, strictly inhibited his 

people from having any trade or intercourse with the English ; 
and ordered an impost of 400 codfish to be demanded and taken 
of every vessel, found fishing upon the coast: and if they refused 
to render the number exacted, their fish and provisions should be 
seized and taken from them. J 
Dutch aj^ain Such was the peculiar antipathy generally entertained towards 
Penobscot, the principles and manners of the French, that any seizure of 
their dominions, it might be well supposed, would excite gratitude 
as well as pleasure among the English colonists. Possibly influenc- 
ed by this motive — certainly by a perpetual desire of possessing a 
D if7c ^"^^ unoccupied region, the Dutch, again in the spring of 1G76, 
sent a man-of-war to Penobscot, and captured the French fortifi- 
cation there ; determining now to keep possession of the coun- 
try. But, as this was a part of New-England, and within the 
Duke's Province ; and as anticipations were entertained of its re- 
turning, amid some future events, to the English or their colonists, 

* Hutch. Coll. p, 464. f 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 28C. J Hutch. Coll. p. 489, 



Chap, xxii.] of Maine. 581 

either by purchase, recession, or reconquest ; two or three ves- a.d. ic7g. 
sels were despatched thither from Boston, which drove the Dutch 
from the peninsula.* To the French this must have afforded 
the greater satisfaction, because the English captors did not tarry, 
but immediately abandoned the place. 

These events and circumstances drew the attention of Gov- a.d. 1677. 
ernor Andros to his master's Sagadahock Province ; and in con- /,.°V' .JH 
nexion with other reasons induced him, in 1677, to take formal ^^^j^'^s"' ^' 
possession of the country — likewise, as previously stated, f to erect 
a fort at Pemaquid. He was a man of activity ; yet, through 
his whole administration, his aim at monopoly and usurpation, 
rendered his conduct a subject of common animadversion. 

He was succeeded in the government of New-York ^^^ ji^,d_ \cs3_ 
Sagadahock, August, 1683, by Col. Thomas Dungan : whose Aus»st- 
appointment, by the Duke of York, was on the 30th of the pre- cf-cd^-d by 

'^ ' •' ' ^ Dungan. 

ceding September. Though a papist, inflexible as his master, he 
is reputed to have been " a man of integrity, moderation and 
genteel manners. "f He entertained correct notions of civil 
liberty, and was the first Governor, who convoked a Legislative 
Assembly in the Province of New-York. He was a man of 
good sense and judgment. When a rupture of the eastern In- 
dians was apprehended, in 1684, his opinion was consulted by 
the government of New-Hampshire, upon the wisdom and ex- 
pediency of inviting the JMohawks into the public service.^ For, 
though the French could neither subdue that brave people, nor 
treat with them, he secured their friendship to the English this 
year by treaty — which was succeeded, thirteen months and aA.o. iG8fl. 
half afterwards, by another with the Abenaques before described. 
Receiving his commission from the Duke of York, he was 
unaffected by the demise of the crown, as before mentioned. Death of 
Feb. 16, 1685; — still exercising the power and enjoying the 
emoluments of the office, until reappointed the next year, by the a.d. iggg. 
same royal person, now James II. In the confirmation of his 



* 1 Huldi. Hist. p. 280, 353.— President Danfortli says, ' it were better 
' to expend £3,0C0, (o gain Canada itself, than that cither tlie French 
' or Dutch should have it ; such is the value of the fisher}', masting', and 
* the fur trade.' 

f Ante, p. 552. J 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 461-3-4- 

^ 1 Belk. JV. H. p. 183, 322. — For tlie Mohawks were better acquainted 
with the " Indians" skulking fight." 



582 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1686. official authority, Duncan entered upon new projects of adniin- 

Dungan re- . ' 

commission- istratioD eastward. 

Palmer and '^° Superintend and manage the ducal Province at Sagada- 
West, com- jjoc^ he appointed two commissioners, John Palmer,* one of the 
ej 'he Council in his Majesty's plantation and colony of New-York, 
Province, and John West, one of his partisans and favorites, both eager of 
wealth and distinction ; and, investing them with plenary pow- 
ers, he sent them into the Province. They repaired to Pema- 
quid, early in the summer of 1686, and published their com- 
mission. Here they found most of the inhabitants returned to 
their places of abode, which had been forsaken in the late war ; 
and Abraham Shurte, exercising the office of town clerk. They 
visited Sheepscot, New-Dartmouth, the other settlements, and 
the Islands ; considering the provincial territory, as a county by 
the former name of Cornwall. 
Their con- Next, they proceeded to regrant or confirm the lands to the 
'^"'^'' settlers, and to other claimants or possessors. In this transaction, 

they were not only guilty of mean and cruel avarice ; " they 
were," as a cotemporary author expresses himself, " arbitrary as 
the grand Turk ;"f — the basest oppressors of a poor, warworn, 
distressed people. In the single town or plantation of New-Dart- 
mouth, It is stated, they executed about 140 leaseholds ;J re- 
serving an annual quitrent of 5s. for every 100 acre lot — or other- 
wise a bushel of merchantable wheat, or its value in money. 
The several tracts so leased to individuals, were generally intend- 
ed to contain 100 acres, yet some were allowed only house-lots 
of 3 or 4 acres, and for executing any leasehold of 100 acres 
of woodland and 20 of marsh, they exacted the enormous fees 
of £2. 10s., and probably a proportionate sum for less or larger 
quantities. For themselves they made ample provisions, without 
much regard to the rights of any one j surveying to each other 
1 0,000 acres, also to Mr. Graham the Attorney-General of Massa- 
chusetts and to some others, very large and valuable tracts of 6 or 

* Palmer was also one of Andros' Council ; — perhaps a Judge likewise. 

f 2 Math. Mag. p. 510. 

I See one of these deeds, in Sullivan s Hist. p. 162-4 — It seems that 
Palmer acted by commission from " lit. Hon. Col. Thomas Dungan," Gov- 
ernor in behalf " of our most gracious sovereign," King James II. supreme 
Lord of (he Colony ; — given under " the seal of the Colony ;'' and signed, 
" J. Palmer." — John ^'cIf, Deputy Secretary. 



Chap, xxii.] of Maine. 583 

8,000 acres. From the settlements upon the main, they proceed- a. d. i686. 
ed to the Islands ; and even John Dalling, an old inhabitant of 
Monhegan, found his only safety in taking from Palmer, Sept. 
13, a leasehold of his own homestead upon that Island. 

Besides the amount of money, being not less than 5 or £600, ^he sufler- 
filched in this way from a distressed and enterprizing people ; ^^^^^^ ''^^ 
the emissaries of the commissioners were busily engaged in ex- 
citing among the timid settlers, the fears of being ejected from 
their lands and homes, if they delayed to take the deeds and pay 
the fees ; and many were thus terrified into the measure.* But, 
as thgir purchases were not surveyed nor the boundaries definitive- 
ly described, the soundness of their titles and extent of their 
claims might still be questioned, and future contentions and trou- 
bles be their unhappy doom : — a dilemma, which necessarily con- 
strained them to enquire, whether they ought to apprehend the 
most evils from the savages, or from these harpies. Nor did the 
leaseholders in fact, derive by these instruments any titles ; none 
of them ever prevailing against Indian deeds, or the grants under 
Elbridge and Aldsworth.f 

In the further execution of the power and trust committed to The mm- 
them. Palmer and West were directed ' to lay claim to the ^'izpTcar- 
* country as far eastward as the river St. Croix,'J — the limit of ^"p^'X" 
the Duke's patent ; and exercise over it the prerogatives of gov- ^^°^' 
ernment, to the extent of his power and right. Unadvised of these 
facts, a shipmaster from Piscataqua, in the course of trade, pro- 
ceeded to Penobscot, with a cargo of wines, where they were land- 
ed under an idea, that the place was within the French terri- 
tory. But because they had not been entered in the custom- 
house at Pemaquid, and the duties paid ; Palmer and West sent 
and seized them. This gave great affront both to the French 
and the people of New-England. The government at Boston 
issued a general circular to all fishermen and likewise to the in- 
habitants of New-Hampshire and Maine, warning them not to 
venture upon the eastern coasts, lest they should be surprized 
and compelled to answer for injuries or damages, done even by 



* Hutch. Coll. p. 647-563-5. 

t Sullivan, p. 162.— The Commissioners, [A. D. 1811, Report, p. 23,) say, 

• no claims under these leaseholds or grants were before them, except the 

• rights of settlers, who hold their possession under such deeds.' 

I Hutch. Coll. p. 543. 



584 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1686. others. However, through the influence of the French ambas- 
sador at the English court, a restoration of the wines was ordered, 
and the difficulty healed. 
Duncan's In Dungan's administration of five years, which terminated 
fioITun- '^^ with the month of March, 1688, "he removed many Dutch 
A'-'^D^ies?. " families from the banks of the Hudson — to this Province ;" 
whose residence was continued till the subsequent Indian war.* 
All his measures in this region, were rendered extremely unpopu- 
lar, by the cupidity, and arbitrary procedure of his agents. 
Palmer, West and Graham ; for " they placed and displaced at 
" pleasure," and some of the first settlers were denied grants of 
their own homesteads j while these men were wickedly dividing 
some ' of the best improved lands among themselves.'f 
Andros, At length the appointment of Sir Edmund Andros, A. D. 1687, 

New-En^- Governor of " Massachusetts, Connecticut,! New-Hampshire, 
iiis adminis- Maine, Plymouth, Pemaquid, and Narragansett" or Rhode-Island, 
seemed to suspend or nullify Dungan's authority in the province 
of Sagadahock, and bring its jurisdiction into competition be- 
tween the two rivals. Yet the dispute was soon settled, by a new 
iMarch, commission in March, 1688, to Andros j appointing him Captain- 
General and Vice-Admiral over the whole of New-England, 
New-York, and the Jersies.§ His Council consisted of thirty- 
nine members, II any five of whom constituted a quorum. Ed- 
ward Randolph was commissioned Secretary. 

* Sullivan, p. 291; f Hutch, Coll. p. 565. 

\ 1 Doug. p. 374. — He says, " Connecticut''' was named in the commission. 
But Chalmers^ p. 419, does not mention that colony. 

\ 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 473, 

II A list of Gov. Andros' Council -.—{See 8 Coll. JIass. Hist. Soc. p. 182. 
J\''ew Series.'] Jilassachusetts — Joseph Dudley, William Stoughton, John 
Pynchon, Richard Wharton, Jonathan Tyng-, William Bro'.vn, and Edward 
Randolph. — Maine — Bartholomew Gedney and Edward Tyng. — J\''ew- 
Hampshire — John Usher, Robert Mason, Samuel Skrimpton and John 
Hinckes. — Plymouth — Thomas Hinkley, Barnabas Lathrop, William Brad- 
ford, Daniel Smith, John Sprag-ue, John Wallej"^, INathanicl Clark, and 
John Cothill. — Rhode-Island — Walter Clark, Walter Newbury, John 
Green, Richard Arnold, Richard Smith, and J. Alborow. — Connecticut — 
Robert Treat, J. F. Winthrop, Wait Winthiop, and John Allen. — Jfcw- 
York — A. Brockholt, Francis Nicholson, Lt. Governor, Frederic Philipse, 
Anthony Baxter, Henry Couillard, John Young', and John Palmer. — J^evc- 
Jcrsey — Nicholas Bayard. They are arranged by colonies so far as can be 
ascertained ; though it is believed W. Winthrop was of Boston, Col. Ged- 
ney resided some time at York, — usually, at Salem. 



Chap, xxn.] of riaine. 585 

The commission blended the several departments of govern- A. D. 1683. 
ment, legislative, executive and judicial ; admitting the interposi- Gov. An* 
tion of no popular branch, and prescribing no particular form of ministra- 
administralion. Nor were the Governor and Council guided by 
any other instructions, or mandatory precepts, than the rules and 
formulas of their own will and discretion. All statute-laws were 
at their feet ; all taxes were subject to their command ; and land- 
titles might be made their playthings. 

It is true, Governor Andros at first, like king James, his mas- 
ter, made plausible professions. He gave sanction to all colonial 
laws not inconsistent with his commission ; he directed taxes to 
be assessed agreeably to former usages ;* and ordered a regular 
administration of justice, according to antecedent practices and 
the customs of the country. 

But he soon proved himself a fit instrument of despotism, and Grievances, 
a just object of general execration. Palmer, Mason, Brockholt, 
Usher and Randolph, of the Council, were his principal advisers, 
and West, Graham, and Bullivant, were his parasites and confi- 
dants. Seldom did he convene more than six or seven of the 
Council on any occasion, — even when his orders' and measures 
touched the vital interests of the community. The people were 
permitted to meet in their primary assemblies, only once in a year^ 
at the usual time of choosing their town officers. Those wor- 
shipping in the congregational way, were threatened with the loss 
of their meeting-houses, unless they reformed. No marriage was 
allowed to be solemnized, unless the parties or their friends were 
first bound in a bond with a penalty, to be forfeited unto the gov- 
ernment, should any lawful impediment come to light. The press 
was restrained ; and land-titles were directly and fatally assailed. 
The doctrine was industriously spread and strenuously urged, that 
the inhabitants must have new patents of their real estate. Indian 
deeds were pronounced to be no better than " the scratch of a 
bear's paw." Nor could any old deeds of lands, or ancient titles 
to real estate, it was said, possibly be valid, in colonies where the 
charters were vacated ; — according to a pretended law-maxim of 

* A tax for 168B, was apportioned thus, Kittcry, £l6, Zs. 6d. ; York, £G, 

1.^. lOrf. ; JFells, £i, 2s. 4(1. ; Saco, £3, ]9s. 2d. ; Scarborough, £3, 16*. 

2d. ; Falmouth, £4, 8*. id. ; Cape Porpoise, £l, Qs. \Qd. ; Isle rf Shoals, 

£l, Os. I0rf.=£41, 14*. 4d. total ;— at one half-penny tax, for £l valuation. 

Vol. I. 61 



586 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1688. the day — the unborn young dies with the expiring dam. — Hence, 
Grievances ^q procure a ncvv assurance of land, it was necessary to file a 

under An- * _ •' 

<^ros. petition, describing the lot and the claim, and praying for a con- 

firmation; to obtain a favorable report from the committee to 
whom the petition was referred ; to take a warrant for a survey 
and cause it to be effected, and a descriptive report to be made ; 
and then, and not till then, could a deed be obtained : — large 
fees being exacted in every step and stage of the process.* — 
Sometimes it cost £30, to obtain a single deed, and £2, 10s. 
were demanded for the probate of a single will : — while Andros, 
the supreme ordinary or judge, and Dudley, his deputy, divid- 
ed the emoluments between them. — However, it must be acknowl- 
edged that they, in managing the business of the probate depart- 
ment, were the authors of considerable improvement, for they 
introduced the forms adopted in the spiritual or ecclesiastical 
^ courts of England, which have subsequently prevailed in our 

courts of probate. 

Andros was as much determined upon the enlargement of ju- 
risdiction, as upon the unlimited exercise of power, and the ac- 
cumulation of wealth. He could not be a stranger to the rapid 
changes of public opinion in England. Party spirit ran high ; 
and in the counter currents of politics, one was setting strongly in 
favor of Holland, and another with equal force against France. 
Nay, though he was the creature of Jame II., who was a papist, 
he possessed neither love nor veneration for papal domination, nor 
for French Catholicism. He feared the Dutch, and might sup- 
pose, if they again seized upon the open country between Penob- 
scot and St. Croix, which was both in his commission and in the 
ducal patent, they might, with the present temper of the nation 
in their favor, be permitted to hold it. He was fully sensible how 
much a repossession of it would give him credit among the peo- 
ple of New-England ; and he had reason to believe, the order 
for restoring the wines seized at Penobscot, was rather an act of 
justice to the colonists, than of partiality to the French. 

With these views, he resolved to seize upon Penobscot ; and 

* Through the influence and persuasion of Edward Tyng-, one of Sir 
Edmund's Council, and Sylvanus Davis of Falmouth, many of the inhab- 
itants of that town took deeds of their lands, in 1687 and S ; who after- 
wards became incensed towards those men, for urg-irig- them to snrh acts 
and expense. 



Chap, xxii.] of MAINE. 587 

in March or April ordered CajDt. George, commander of the A D. 1688. 
Jfrigate Rose, then at Pemaquid, to be prepared for the expedi- cP'"''a„. 
tion. by the time lie and his attendants should arrive there. Pro- ^'^^^ ^/^^^^ 

' . , upon Pe- 

ceeding to Piscataqua by land, he sent a message from that place, "obscoi. 
and directed Col. Mason, who was then examining into the state 
of the provincial militia of Maine, to meet him on the eastern 
margin of Casco bay ; as he was about embarking for the east- 
ward, in a sloop attended by a commodious barge. His passage 
among the Islands of that bay, afforded him much pleasure. He 
visited Mr. Wharton's possessions at Pejepscot, — ascended the 
Kennebeck several leagues — and returning, joined Capt. George 
at Pemaquid ; and both sailed for the peninsula of 'Biguyduce.* 

Soon as the frigate was conveniently anchored in the harbor, 
near the old fort and habitation of Baron de St. Castine ; the 
Governor transmitted to him by a Lieutenant, due notice of his 
being on board, ready for an interview if desired. But the Baron, 
too wary to be made a prisoner by surprize, had already taken 
his family and retired to the woods ; leaving all to the will of the 
unexpected visitors. They found household furniture, firearms, 
ammunition and coarse cloths — all which they put on board the 
frigate ; in nowise injuring his catholic altar, chapel-service, pic- 
tures, ornaments, or buildings. 

In this expedition, the Governor had brought with him carpen- 
ters and materials, to repair the fortification and render it fit for 
a garrison. But it had been originally constructed in greater 
part, of stones and turf; and had fallen so much into ruins, that 
he concluded to spare the expense, and abandon the undertaking 
and the place. 

He returned to Pemaquid, where, agreeably to previous invita- Reiums t» 
tion, he was met by several Indians. In a parley — he warned and^Mdey'i 
them never to follow, nor yet fear the French. Call home, said i^^'jj'a'^g*' 
he ^ all your young men; he quiet; live in peace; and we will 
assist and protect you. Turning to a Tarratine Sachem, he ad- 
ded, — yes, and you tell your jriend Castine, if he will render 
loyal obedience to the king of England, every article taken from 
him shall be restored at this place. Hoping to win their good will 
bv courteous talk and kind offices, he then treated them with ar- 

♦ Hutchinson's Coll. p. 662-3-6. 



588 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1, 

A, D. 1683. dent spirits, and distributed among them shirts and some other 
presents. 

The situation, harbor and bay, appeared to so great advantage 
in his eye, he thought Pemaquid might be the principal mart in 
the eastern country. Finding, however, that the fort, built by his 
directions eleven years before, had gone greatly to decay, he or-' 
dered it to be thoroughly repaired, To him, some of the inhabi- 
tants made complaint against the mismanagement of Palmer and 
West, and prayed him to confirm their original rights and pos-' 
sessions to them, This is unnecessary, said he, for all that Dun^ 
gan's commissioners did, is of no effect. During the spring, an 
account v;as taken of the inhabitants scattered along the eastern 
coast from Penobscot to St, Croix^^-^after which, his attention was 
for several months diverted from this country, by public business, 
which called him to New- York. f 
Castine'saf- The treatment which Castine had received gave him great 
iiecied°with Umbrage, He considered the plunder of his house a wanton 
\n\v outrage upon him, being fully able, as he believed he was, to 

justify all his conduct towards the English ; and fully determined 
never to submit to their domination. Nor had he any great re^ 
gard for the government of France. He preferred to be the ruler 
of the Indians — -and indeed his influence among them was su^ 
preme. 

Moved by motives, which are hereafter to be more fully stated, 
though somewhat connected with his advice, the Indians com- 
menced hostilities in August. Immediately every fort, between 
Piscataqua and Penobscot, was repaired and put in the best pos» 

* Jit Penobscot — Baron Castine, his family, and Uanne, his servant, — At 
Edgemoragan Reach — Charles St. I^obin, his son and dapghtcr, and La 
Flour and his wife. — At " Mount Demrts,'' viz. at Petit Phamnts, Lowrj', 
wife and cliild, [FrencK] \ Hinds, wife and 4 children, {Englisli] : and ot\ 
the cast side <f Mount Desert, " at JFinscheas; Bay" Cadilac and ^7ife.-^ 
At Machias — Marte], Jphn Bretoon, wife, and a child of Jersey ; Lattre, 
wife, and 3 children. — At Passamaquoddy and St, Croix — St Robin, wife 
and son J Letrell ; John Minns, wife and 4 children; Lambert, and 
Jolly Give, his servant ; Zorza, and Lena, his servant; — perhaps 45 souls, 
See, 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 82-3. 3d. Scries. 

t In July, 1688, J^lcholas Manning, Esq. was appointed by Governor An» 
dros, Chief Magistrate and Judge of the Court, in tiic Province of the 
Duke of York, called Sag-adaliock, or the County " of Cornwall ;" [Set 
ante, Af D. 1665,] provided Henry Josrelyn was not present, 



Chap, xxii.] OF MAINE. 589 

ture of defence ; and in September, soldiers were enlisted or A. D. 1683. 
detached, for an eastern expedition. 

But when Governor Andros returned to Boston, he wholly dis- ^^^. 
approved of the measure, and utterly refused to have w^ar de- <^''os' procia- 

' ' , '_ •' malioii. 

clared. He believed a kind and generous course of conduct 
towards the Indians, was better policy ; and on the 20th of Oc- oct. 20. 
tober, he issued his Proclamation, by which he ordered all the 
Indian prisoners to be discharged ; and commanded the savage 
aggressors immediately to set at liberty every one of his Majesty's 
subjects, they had taken, and to surrender for the purpose of 
trial and punishment, by Nov. 11, every Indian concerned in 
the late homicide. He also strongly encouraged the tribes, if 
they were desirous of peace and safety, to dwell near the Eng- 
lish towns and settlements, and give early proof of their mutual 
or friendly dispositions. But they paid no regard to his mandates 
or encouragements, — -our prisoners being released, while theirs 
were retained ; and some of them in their barbarous frolics, 
were actually put to death. 

Perceiving war to be inevitable, he rushed into the opposite ex- His eaiterii 
treme. Determined now to subdue the savages, or frighten 
them into terms, he collected a force of 800 men;* and, late in 
November, he led them into the eastern country, breathing threats 
and slaughter. The expedition was opposed by all the more 
wise and considerate, and like most of his projects, proved in the 
end to be abortive. His soldiers suffered incredibly widi cold 
and fatigue, and several of them perished. Never had an officer 
luster cause of chagrin than he ; for in all his excursions, he 
neither killed a savage, nor took a captive. 

To cloak and varnish this inglorious adventure, he proceeded 
to establish garrisons through the eastern country ; and if we 
may credit his own statements, eleven were manned and well sup- \l^^^f^^' 
plied. 1. At Pemaquid, he stationed two new companies of CO s*'"'"'^'^"*- 
men each, under Col. E. Tyng and Capt. Minot, joined by 36 reg- 
ulars ; and gave the command of the garrison to Capt. Brockholt 
and Lieut, Wecms, 2. In JVeiv-Dartmouth fort, now Newcastle, 
he placed 24 of the regular soldiery under Lieut. John Jordan ; 



*1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 474.— Belknap says 700;- Eliot says 1,000; 
nd it is added by President Danfortli, that Sir Edmund had as many in 
■5V in 1689, 



590 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. iGsc. also Capt. VViihington's company of 60 men. 3. The little fort 
on the eastern side of the Sheepscot, [one account says Damaris- 
cotta,] was to be relieved every week from the garrison at New- 
DartmoLith. 4. At Sagadahock ; 5. at JYewton on Arrowsick 
Island; 6. at Fort .^nne ;* and 7. at Pejepscot, he distributed 
40 of the regular troops, and two militia companies of 60 men 
each ; and gave the command to Lieut. Col. McGregory, Maj. 
Thomas Savage and Capt. Manning. 8. At Falmouth, — Fort 
Loyal was commanded by Capt. George Lockhart, and manned 
by his company of 60 soldiers. 9. At Saco, Andros stationed 
Capt. Lloyd and his company, also a detachment of 28 men, 
from the troops under the command of Maj. Henchman and 
Capt. Bull. 10. The fort at Kennebunk, commanded by Capt. 
Puddington, was to be relieved from Saco. IL And lastly the 
fort at Wells was to be relieved in the same manner. The whole 

A. D. 1689. number, in service and under pay through the winter, and dis- 
tributed among the forts, was 566 men.f The Governor caused 
several forts to be repaired, particularly at New-Dartmouth and at 
Pejepscot [or Brunswick lower falls] ; and put in requisition three 
government vessels, the sloop Mary, sloop Speedwell, and brig- 

Thisexpe- antine Samucl.J All this was merely a military movement or 

iess. display — neither the result of wisdom, experience, or sound 

judgment ; nor yet promotive of any considerable public good.§ 
Had he been in the least acquainted with the habits of the In- 
dians, or listened even to the statements of hunters ; he would 
have known, that these tenants of the forest retire in the autumn 
from the sea-board, and pass the winter upon their hunting births 
in the interior wilderness. 

. , , , An administration of sixteen months, closed the career of An- 

Andros' ad- ' 

iniiiistration jjj.Qg [^^ Ncw-Eugland. Unfortunately for his purpose, he found 
1 year and himsclf in the midst of a e;eneration, constituted of the first emi- 

4 months. . 

grants and their patriot sons ; who were schooled <o the doctrine 
of principles and consistent measures, — and alive to every senti^ 



* Perhaps this was on the peninsula, at Popham's ancient fort. 

f Mr. Eliot says Andros returned " with a part of his army, having- put 
the remainder into winter quarters in two forts, viz. one at Sheepscot and 
the other at Pejepscot falls." — Biog. p. 34. 

I They were commande;! by Jolm Alden, John Wiswcll and J. Hook. 

) The garrisons mig-ht deter the savag^es from incursions. — Chalmers, p. 
129. 



Chap, xxii.] OF Maine. 591 

nient of liberty, civil, religious and rational. Equality of rights A. D. ig89. 
was a maxim inscribed upon the tables of their hearts. But by 
tame submission, to rulers in whose appointment their wishes were 
not consulted ; to laws, in making which they had no voice ; to 
taxes, imposed and appropriated without their consent ;* to at- 
tacks upon the sacred rights of conscience, and the tide-deeds 
of their homes, without resistance, — were to put on at once, and 
tamely wear the chains of slavery. The popular and mighty 
struggle in the modier country against popish hierarchy and des- 
potic domination, under king James and his adherents, was well 
understood through the colonies j and the triumphs of liberty and 
privilege were news most ardently desired and daily expected. 
Such a prospect must have inspired our provincial patriots and 
statesmen herCj with a bolder spirit of reform. In the spring a 
general nuuTnur of discontent spread through the community ; 
which was followed by the dashes of a rumor, that the Gov- 
ernor's guards were to be let loose upon Boston. Half-smothered 
indignation could no longer be suppressed. The smitten spark 
set the public in flames; and early in the morning of April 18th, Apri; i&. 
the populace threw the Governor and thirty of his most obnox- 
ious partisans into confinement. Several of them, such as An- uoii! 
dros, Dudley, Randolph, West, Palmer, Graham, Sherlock and 
Farwell, were not allowed to be enlarged, on any bail that could 
be oflered.f 

Next, through die united solicitation of the town's people, and iVovisional 

. . . . govern- 

hundreds who immediately rushed in from die country, Simon '"'em. 
Bradstrcet, late Governor, Thomas Danforth, late Deputy-Gov^ 
ernor and President of ]\Iaine, and thirteen other men of firm- 
ness and distinction, were induced to take the direction of the 
revolutionary changes, and to interpose their influence for pre- 
venting, if possible, all extravagances in the reforms undertaken ; 
and they at last prevailed upon Andros, to surrender the keys ol 
government, and the command of the fortifications.J On the 



* ?.Tcn iivlpswich were f;ued and imprisoned, because rates were re- 
r.iscd, to be assessed or paid. — 1 Holmes'' A. Ann. n. 473. 

f Some of them were in close prison 20 wcelis — 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 31^. 

\ Hutch. Coll. p, 570. — President Danfortli says, in a letter, July 30, to 
J\Ir. Maliicr, the changes in Enj^land makes " the arbitrary coininiisidrv 
of ijir Edmund, null and void," as on a dfmise of the crown. 



592 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1GS9, third day the tumult ceased ; though the shock continued to be 
felt in every part of the administration, for a much longer time. 
... „^ A general convention of the people having assembled, April 

A coiiven- 20, for the purpose of considering the broken state of public 

coiincU of affairs, appointed Messrs. Bradstreet, Danforth and 35 others — 
" A Council for the safety of the people and conserva- 
" TioN OF THE PEACE," and chosc Isaac Addington, clerk, and 
Wait Winthrop, Commander-in-chief of the militia. On recom- 
mendation of this Council, delegates were chosen by towns, to 

R!n}- 2. the number of 66 ; and convening in assembly, May 2, con- 
firmed the new provisional government, and advised to a meeting 
of the General Court, which was consequently holden at Boston 

ftiay '22. on the 22d of the same month, by representatives from 54 
towns. In session, the House determined " to resume the gov~ 

Charier emment according to charter rights ;" and on the 3d day, 

.MMned7" Governor Bradstreet, Danforth, Deputy-Governor, and the As- 
sistants, chosen in May, 1686, were prevailed upon to signify in 
writing their ' acceptance of the care and government of the peo- 

* pie, according to the rules of the charter, until by direction 

* from England,* there be an orderly settlement of government.' 
iievoimion The report of a great political overturn in England, which had 
!!!.ja'J^e^"{f been so strongly anticipated, during the late revolutionary chan- 
Fra'iTce!— 5^^ ^" ^^^ colony, was fully confirmed by an arrival, May 26, to 
William ii^Q e;reat and general ioy of all New-Ens;land. It was now cer- 

aml nlary ° r^ J J 3 

proclaimed, tain, that James II. had abdicated the English throne on the 12th 
of December past,f and gone to France ; and that his son-in- 
law, William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, and 
Mary his wife, the king's daughter, were proclaimed, Feb. 16y 
king and queen of England. 

Anairs in During the past three years, the Province of Maine had ex- 
perienced peculiar vicissitudes. A new and promising administra- 
tion, commenced under the executive magistracy of President 
Danforth, had been exceedingly weakened, if not entirely paraliz- 
ed ; for by vacating the charter of Massachusetts, abolishing the 
legislative power that appointed him to office, and shifting the 
paramount command into other hands, the authority, at least, of 



* The election was afterwards annually continued, till the arrival of the 
new charter. 

\ Or, " December 23d, 168S."— 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 474. 



Chap, xxii.] of MAINE. 693 

the President became problematical. Nevertheless, the towns A.D. ifiSB. 
and settlements were constantly filling with inhabitants, till the late 
ravages of the Indians had somewhat damped the spirits of the 
people, and possibly given a check to cnterprize. At any rate, 
every thing was deranged and unsafe ; for though the country 
had been garrisoned at great expense, the people considered them- 
selves in jeopardy ; and surely, no other colony or province in 
New-England ever suffered an equal complication of evils with 
Maine, merely through want of a setded efficient government. 

The news of the revolutionary changes in Boston, when they 
reached the eastern garrisons, occasioned great disturbances. — • 
From some of them the soldiers withdrew and went home ;* in 
others they seized their officers, particularly Brockholt, M'Greg- 
ory, and Lockhart,f and sent them to Boston ; and in no one 
was there due subordination. To rectify, therefore, and settle 
the military, ' the Council of Safety,' immediately after the Board 
was constituted, appointed Major Charles Frost, to command the C.Frost and 
western, and Col. Edward Tyns;, the eastern regiment: and itcommand- 
seems, they also had the superintendance of the garrisons, ex-easiem 
cepting the one at Pemaquid. This, at the request of the in- 
habitants, was still kept by Lieut. Weems, who was directed by 
Massachusetts to take charge of all the public stores belonging to 
that important post, till orders, daily expected, be received from 
England. J 

The Council of Safety, May 15th, confirmed the former Coun- covftrn- 
cillors of the Province, — viz. Charles Frost, Francis Hook, Ed- Ma"ne re^ 
ward Tyng, John Davis, Joshua Scottow, Samuel Wheelwright, confirmed, 
and John Wincoln ; all of whom were afterwards established in 
their official trust by the General Court, on the 24-5th of thei 
same month ; and Mr. Danforth was fully restored to the office 
and authority of Provincial President. 

Our Council were ' empowered and directed to consult, advise^ 
* determine and put in execution, whatever they should judge 
' necessary for the pubHc peace and safety, and the common 
' good, in the present exigency of aiFairs ; or, upon any emergen- 

* 2 Malh. Jtlagnal. p. 510. — Some, he says, took occasion " to desert theiF 
stations in the army." + 6 Mass. Rec, p. 6. 

\ 6 Mass. Rec. p. 20, 22.— By this it appears, that Massaehusetts assumed 
a command over the late ducal province. 
Vol. I. 62 



594 



THE HISTORY 



[Vol 



Delegation 
from the 
'J'arratines. 



A. D. 1689. ' cy which might occur within the Province ; and all the officers 

* and people therein, were commanded to observe the orders of 

* the President and Council. 
About this time, Madockawando, from Penobscot, accompanied 

by several Indians and an interpreter, visited Boston. They stat- 
ed that Castine was highly affronted with the English for plun- 
dering his house ; and that a great war was apprehended. The 
government treated them with the greatest courtesy — loaded them 
with presents — made them repeated promises of protection and 
kindness, if they continued peaceable — and gave them a passage 
home in the colony sloop. To Castine, a very respectful address 
was prepared by the government and sent by Capt. Alden, the 
master, exculpating the present administration from all censure on 
account of the ill-treatment he had received, and making propo- 
sals of an amnesty upon generous terms. Presents were also 
prepared for Wonnolancet and his tribe, at Penacook ; and more- 
over, Capt. Noah Wiswell, with 30 friendly Indians, well armed 
and equipped, was despatched eastward to protect York, Wells, 
and other unfortified places.* 

A gracious address, received from king William, entirely al- 
layed the anxieties of the public, occasioned by the late revolu- 
tion. In a royal instruction issued by him, Aug. 12, " to the 
Governor, Council and Convention of Representatives" in Mas- 
sachusetts ; he authorized them ' to continue their care and trust, 
' in the administration of government and preservation of the 

* public peace, till further directions be received ;' — commanding 
them to send over Andros and his accomplices, to answer in the 
kingdom for his mal-administration. On their arrival at Court, 
they were slightly examined before the privy Council, and then 
discharged. Andros was afterwards appointed Governor of Vir- 
ginia ; and Dudley, chief justice of New-York. f 

All the prospects and hopes, which had been entertained, that 
an Indian war might be avoided, were at length shrouded with 
deep gloom, by the gathering storm in Europe. France had 
received king James into her bosom, and was warmly espousing 
his cause against William and Mary. Hence, usurpers — hugue- 



A letter 
from king 
William. 



A rupture 
feared be- 
tween the 
English and 
French. 



=*• 6 Mass. Rec. p. 12. 

^Ij-hdch. Hist. Y).Zil-8-350.— Eliot's Biog. Die. only names Andros, 
Dudley and Randolph. There are no government-records found in Bos- 
ton, as made during Andros' administration. 



Chap, xxix.] OF MAINE. 595 

Rots — execrable transgressors of all laws, human and divine, a. d. i689. 
binding upon filial love and obedience — were the most elegant 
epithets bestowed upon them. In return, James was denounced 
as a despot, — a papist, — a traitor, — unworthy to rule or live 
among the lovers of true liberty or religion. Connect these for- 
tuitous circumstances with a long-existing rivalship between 
France and England, fed by jealousy and pride, and enfuriated 
by the flames of religious dissensions ; and we are not surprised 
to find war inevitable between the two kingdoms. Nay, war be- 
tween popery and protestantism — between power and right, had 
already commenced ; and the first sparks of this electric efier- 
vescence were felt to the extremities of their respective dominions. 

The French on this side of the Atlantic, seemed to commence 
aggressions with an eager haste, and pursue them with malignant 
fury. Tiie Canadians took the lead by instigating the Indian 
tribes to join them, and fall with exterminating rapacity, upon the 
outer settlements of New-England — particularly in New-Hamp- 
shire and Maine. Southerly, the French privateers were infesting 
the Acadian coast, and taking all the English colonial vessels 
which fell in their way.* In the interior, the Jesuit missionaries 
were inflaming the resentments of the savages against the en- 
croaching settlers, calling them " English heretics." Some at- 
tacks and captures had already been made ; and as soon as war 
was proclaimed at Boston, Dec. 7,f between England and dai'med"" 
France, the General Court resolved upon a course of measures ^^"^' ^' 
and preparations, for regaining Nova Scotia and reducing Que- 
bec. J 

Early in the spring, therefore, eight vessels and 700 men be- a. D. 1690. 
sides boys, were in readiness for the meditated expedition. In against n" 
the public estimation, the fittest man to take the command was ^°^'^' 
Sir William Phips ; and to him the commission was given. 

Sir William was a native of this State, born in Woolwich upon Sir William 
the Sheepscot, Feb. 2, 1650; — one of the youngest of his moth- '^^' 
er's 26 children, 21 being sons. Bereaved of his father, when a 
child, he passed his boyhood with his mother till he was 18; af- 
terwards learning the trade of a ship-carpenter, and acquiring some 



* 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 352. 

f In England, war was declared against France, May 7, 1689. 
I The French, settled in New-France, were now 11,249 perions. — 41 
Universal Hitt. p. 47. 



596 THE HISTORY [VoL. I, 

A. p. 1G90. education. About the time of Philip's war, he built a ship iq 
Sheepscot river ; and being driven away by the Indians, he be- 
came a seafaring adventurer. In some of his voyages, he heard, 
that a Spanish ship laden with silver, had been wrecked and 
sunk half a century before, not far from the Bahama Islands, 
He told the interesting story to the Duke of Albemarle ; and en-: 
tering into an agreement with him, sailed twice under his auspi-. 
ces, from England into those waters, in search of the wa-eck. 
During the second voyage, in 1687, after indefatigable efforts, he 
found it, between 40 and 50 feet under water ; and took from it 
the inmiense treasure of 34 tons of silver, besides gold, pearls 
and jewels — ^equivalent in value to |; 1,350,000, Of this treas-. 
ure his part exceeded ^'70,000, besides a golden cup worth 
^4,000 presented to his wife by his noble patron, For his en-, 
terprize, success and honesty, king James II, conferred upon him 
the order of knighthood, and appointed him high^-sherifi" of New-^ 
England. This was during the administration of Andros, with 
whom he differed so widely in politics, that he declined the of-, 
fice,* 

Conquest To command the present expedition, he was thought to pos-^ 

Bcotia. sess every qualification. His little squadron, destined against 
Nova Scotia, left Boston harbor on the 28th of April. It con-» 
sisted of seven sail— -a frigate of 40 guns, two sloops, one of 16, 

^ the other of 8 guns, and four ketches, f Sir William proceeded 

directly to Port^Royal, which being in no capacity to stand a 
siege, surrendered at discretion. He then put on board his frigate 
Maneval, the Governor, a military officer and 38 soldiers ; anci 
in visiting Chidabucto, Isle Perce, St John, and other French 
Bettlements, he took formal possession of the whole country and 
coast to Penobscot, including the Islands, He appointed a Gov- 
ernor over the Province, assigned him a council of six mem- 
bersjj and returned to Boston, May 30, with his prisoners, also 

*Phip3 rrjarried a daug-liter of Rog-er Spencer of Saco, a young widow, 
late consort of John Hull, merchant of Boston, where he dwelt for a perb 
od, after his removal from Sheepscot river. He had no child. Spencer Phips 
was his nephew and adopted son. The specie found, consisted of pieces of 
eight, bullion, and solid ingots of silver, which Dr. Mather says were call- 
ed « sows and pigs."— See his 2 Jlagnal. p. ][)l-20S.—Danforth'sLeUer, 
April, ICSO.— 1 Hulch. Hist. p. 353, f 40 Unjv, Jlist- p. eg. 

Jl Holmes' A. Ann. p. 17S. 



ClIAP. XXII.] OF MAINE. 597 

with plunder thought to be sufficient in amount, to defray the A. Ui 1G90. 
whole expense of this short expedition.* It was supposed, the 
French population at this time in the entire Province did not ex- 
ceed 2 or 3,000 souls. f Sir William was now holdon in high 
estimation ; and, at the general election this spring, he was for 
the first time chosen into the Massachusetts Board of Assistants. 

The easy conquest of Nova Scotia inspired the colonists with txpediiion 
fresh courage and renovated zeal, in the premeditated enterprize (finmtia, 
of reducing Canada to a British Province. In consideration of the 
fishing, the fur-trade, the masting-business, and the deep-rooted 
enmity of the Canadians towards the English colonies ; it were 
far better policy, as many argued, for the crown to expend thou- 
sands of pounds in conquering the country, than to let it remain 
in possession of the French. J The idea was well conceived ; 
and never was sagacity more truly prophetic of what New-Eng-: 
land would find to be her true interest, 

The magnitude of the enterprize was universally realized. — : 
New-England and New-York agreed to join in preparing 40 
armed vessels, and raising 4,000 men. Half of them were to 
embark on board the fleet, under Sir William, the Commodore, 
who was to attack Quebec ; and the other half were ordered to 
take up their march by land, under the command of Maj. Gen, 
John Winthrop, of Connecticut, who was to lead them against 
jVIontreal, Most earnest solicitations were also sent to England 
by express, and presented to the king, for several frigates and a 
supply of arms and ammunition j and such were the uncommon 
exertions of the people, that in two rponths, the colony forces 
were in readiness to be put in motion. 

But, unhappily, no naval armament nor military stores arrived 
from England ; while the best part of the season was wasting, 
and the enemy was probably gaining every advantage by the de- 
lay. Influenced by these considerations, Sir William sailed, Au- 
gust 9th ; and Gen. Winthrop arrived at Wood-creek, near the ^"S^^'- ^' 
southerly end of Lake Champlain, early in the same month. — 
Here he met with great discouragements, Only 70 Mohawk 

* 2 Math. Magnal. p 522. 

\ 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 13.— 1 Holmes* A. Ann. p. 474,-3 or -1,000 ; but Huli- 
iburton says, vol. 1. p. 6S, only 900 on the Peninsula of p^ova Scotia. 

J Dapfprth's Letter, A. D. 1690. 



598 THE HisioRY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1G90. warriors had appeared to join him ; the number of batteaux and 
canoes provided, was not half enough to transport his men across 
the lake ; his provisions and supplies were short ; and after due 
deliberation he ordered a retreat, or rather return, of his whole 
army.* 

Octobers. The fleet, retarded by fortuitous incidents and events, did not 
arrive before Quebec, till the 5th of October. Next morning 
the Commodore addressed a note to Count Frontenac, the Gov- 
ernor, demanding a surrender. But the haughty nobleman, ren- 
dered more insolent by tidings from Wood-creek, returned a con- 
temptuous answer, adding, — You and your countrymen are her- 
etics and traitors. JYeiv-Englarid and Canada would he one, 
had not the amity been prevented by your Revolution.^ Phips, 
though thwarted by contrary winds, was able, on the 8th, to ef- 
fect a landing of about thirteen hundred effective men, upon the 
Isle of Orleans, four miles below the town ; and to commence a 
cannonade from his shipping, among which were frigates carrying 
44 guns. But their approach was repelled and prevented by the 
long guns in the French batteries ; and the land forces were vio- 
lently assailed and harassed by the French and Indians from the 
woods. Amidst these and other discouragements, the Commo- 

October II. dore, on the 11th, learned from a deserter, the condition and great 
strength of the place ; and the same day he and his troops re- 
embarked with precipitation. 

Repulse T^^Q fleet, overtaken in the St. Lawrence by a violent tempest, 

anddisas- -^^^ dispersed; two or three vessels were sunk; one was wreck- 
ed upon Anticosta ; some were blown off to the West Indies ; 
and the residue of the shattered squadron were more than a 
month on their way home ; Sir William himself not arriving in 
Boston till the 19th of November. His losses by the smallpox, 
the camp-distemper and other sickness, by the enemy and by ship- 
wreck, were two or three hundred men ; and the expenses of 
the expedition, like its disasters, were great. In a few weeks Sir 
William sailed for England, to solicit the king's assistance towards 
another expedition. 

So confident had the public been of success, that no adequate 
provision had been made for the payment of the troops. The 

* 1 Trumbull's Conn. p. 383.— 1 Williams' Vt. p. 296 — 2 Mather's Ma^- 
nalia, p. 522.— He says, " 32 sail." \ 1 Hutchinson's History, p. 356. 



Chap, xxii.] of Maine, 599 

administration of Andros had emptied the treasury; an Indian A. D. 1690. 
war, which had now raged more than two years in Maine, had 
filled that Province with embarrassments, and Massachusetts with 
perplexities ; and the late disasters, without booty or glory, were 
lying with oppressive weight upon the government. Nay, though 
*' ten single rates" had been levied and assessed the preceding 
spring, there was no money in the public chest, to pay the sol- 
diery ; and it is said, there was considerable danger of a 
mutiny. 

In this extremity, the General Court of Massachusetts, Dec. First paper 
10, laid upon the people a tax of £40,000; and in anticipation "^°"*^^' 
of payment issued •' Bills of Credit,^^ or public notes, as a sub- 
stitute for money, differing in amount Irom 2s. to £10. ; — the 
first ever sent into circulation by any of the colonies. These, 
paid out in discharge of public debts, it was expected, would be 
collected by the tax-gatherers and shortly returned into the treasu- 
ry. — Such is the origin of paper money ; till which, the colonial 
currency was sterling. 

It soon depreciated in value, so that four dollars in the bills 
could be purchased by three in specie ; though it was afterwards 
equal to gold and silver, and so continued while the sums issued 
from year to year were not large.* 

At the i\Iay-election, in 1C91, the government was organized, j^j^y, jgg], 
under the declining shades of the colonial charter, for the last eral^anirl 
time. Bradstreet was re-elected Governor, and Danforth, Deputy- "",^^'' '*?** 

' ' r y cnloiu' cliar- 

Governor and President of Maine ; the present being the twelfth "^'■• 
year, since Danforth's first appointment or election, to that office. 
Though his residence was in Cambridge, he was often in the 
Province, frequently consulted with his Council, and at stipu- 
lated times, met them and the General Assembly of Councillors 
and Deputies, under the provisions of the charter to Gorges. 
He had rendered himself highly acceptable to the Provincials, 
by his republican politics, his rigid virtues and his untiring exer- 
tions to promote their best interests, and to preserve the people 
from the ravages of die Indians. Among his official labors, the 
current spring, one was an endeavor to negotiate peace with some 
of the tribes ; and another was an examination of the garrisons. 



* 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 357. — Wheat was set at oj. ; r3c 4s; corn 3*. 6d.; 
oats 1*. 6c/. per bushel. — 5 Jlass Rcc. p. 122. 



600 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1691. The people of Massachusetts were so strongly attached to the 
colonial charter, that they sent three agents to England and em- 
ployed Sir Henry Ashurst of the realm, for two years, to urge 
their pleas before the king in council, for its restoration, with some 
additional privileges. But their arguments and solicitations were 
pressed in vain. A new draft was reported, June 8th, by a com- 
mittee of Council, and shewn to the agents, who presented written 
objections to several of its particulars ; and hence a decision was de- 
layed three months, owing, however, principally to the king's 
absence in Flanders.* In the meantime, its provisions were fully 
considered and discussed by the committee and the agents ; and 
after his return, the important instrument, denominated the Char- 
ter OF William and Mary, or the Provincial Charter, pass- 
ed the seals, October 7th, 1691, and received the royal sanction. 
It was the celebrated Prescript, which was afterwards, for 89 years, 
the constitutional foundation and ordinance of civil government, for 
the united territories and people of Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
Maine, and Sagadahock ; — collectively called ' the Royal Province 
of Massachusetts Bay.'' 

The Province of Maine, in consequence of the purchase, was 
made a constituent part without objection, according to the boun- 
daries in the charter to Gorges,f together with the jive northerly 
Isles of Shoals, as originally belonging to his patent. The coun- 
try, situated ' between the river Sagadahock [or Kennebeck] and 
Nova Scotia,' and extending ' northward to the river of Canada, 'J 
or 48th degree of latitude, was inserted in the charter without 
any specific name, though usually called the Province of Saga- 
dahock, — now so much enlarged, beyond what primarily bore 
the same territorial name. It embraced the second principality in 
the twelve great Divisions of 1635,§ lying between Kennebeck 
and Pemaquid, and between the coast and a northern line run- 
ning westerly from the head of the latter river to Swan Island, in 
the Kennebeck ; — also, the ducal province of James II., being 
the residue of the whole territory between the last mentioned 
river, and St. Croix, || Schoodic or Nova Scotia, whose pro- 
vince had reverted to the crown on his abdication. irMoreover^ 



* 1 Matli. Mag. p. 179, 181.— 9 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 273-4. 
t See ante, A. D. 1639. J 1 Doug. Sum. p. 382. 

5 Sec ante, A. D. 1635. || Ante, A. D. 1664 and 1674. 

U So many have been the changes as to the governments within the 
present State of Maine, prior to the charter of William and Mary, that it 



Chap. XXII.] OF Maine. 601 

to prevent the French from having a repossession of Acadia, or A. D. I69i. 
J^ova Scotia, which, though it were resigned to them under the 
treaty of Breda, (1GG7,) had been lately captured by Phipsj — ' 

becomes expedient, for the sake of perspicuity and reference to give a 
synopsis of them in this place — as it respects, I. the Province of Maine ,' 
and, II. Sagadahock, as divided by the Penobscot, into two great sections, 
the IVestcrn and Eastern. — I. As to the Province nf Maine, — 1. Sir Fcrdi- 
nando taking' the 3d and 4th of the 12 divisions, in 1635, which he called 
J^ew-SomersetshirCi formed a government therein nnder William Gorges. 
— 2. His charter of Maine and administration, in 1639-40. — 3. The divis- 
ion of the Province by the river Kennebunk, wnder Rigby's claim, and his 
rule of Lygonia, after 1646, by Cleaves. — 4. Massachusetts, in 1652-3, as- 
sumes to govern Gorges' part; and, in 1658, Kigby's part also. — 5. The 
king's tliree commissioners, in 16G5, took command of the whole. — 6. Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1668, resumed the government of the entire Province, and 
in 1677, purchased it, — 7. An administration, in 1679-80, is established un- 
der the executive trust of President Danforth. — 8; In 1686, president Dud- 
ley, and, after him, Governor Andros, were commissioned to govern 
it and other Provinces. — 9. IVlassachusetts, in 1689, ousted Andros of his 
power, and soon recommitted the government to Danforth. — II. (First,) 
Western Sagadahock, was — 1. after 1631, principally under the rule of the 
Pemaquid proprietors. — 2. James, the Duke of York, in 1664, took his 
patent ; and the king's three Commissioners, the next year, assumed the 
government within it. — 3. Massachusetts, in 1674, established there, the 
county of Devonshire; and the same year the Duke took a new patent ; 
Andros being ducal Governor, who assumed possession in 1680. In 1G83, 
Governor Dungan succeeded him, who managed it ])y his ag-ents, Palmer 
and West. — 4. Andros, in 1686, was commissioned Governor of New- 
England, including Maine and Sagadahock. — 5. In May, 1689, Massachu- 
setts took the government from him. — (Secondl}',) Eastern Sagadahock^ 
was, 1. embraced by the New-England patent, of 1620. — 2. After the 
treaty of St. Germains, in 1632, it was claimed by the French, as a part 
of Nova Scotia. — 3. The whole, in 1654, was reduced to the possession of 
the English, by Major Sedgwick, under Lord Cromwell, and the govern- 
ment of it given to Col. Temple.^-4. Under the treaty of Breda, conclud- 
ed in 1667, it was claimed and possessed by France, as a part of Nova 

Scotia 5. In 1688, Penobscot was seized upon by Governor Andros, and 

the repossession of it completed by the English arms, under Phips, in 1690. 
—6. The charter of William and Mary, in 1691, embraces it.— 7. It was 
claimed by the French, as a part of Nova Scotia, under the treaty of Rys- 
wick, 1697.— 8. Possession of Nova Scotia was recovered by the English 
forces under Nicholson, in 1710;— and the charter of William and Mary, 
ever after made effectual, as far east as St. Croix— the original extent of 
jurisdiction claimed. 

Vol. I. 63 



602 THE HISTORY [VoL. t* 

A. D. 1691. that Province was also inserted in the charter.* In a few years, 
however, it was conceded by the Province of Massachusetts, to 
the entire exclusive dominion of the Enghsh crown. JVew^ 
Hampshire, according to the wishes of her inhabitants, would 
have been put into the same charter, had it not been recently 
purchased of Mason's heirs, by Samuel Allen of London, who 
prevented its insertion. f In fine, the charter also included "all 
" Islands and inlets lying within ten leagues directly opposite the 
" main land within the said bounds ;" reserving to the crown, 
admiralty-jurisdiction and one fifth of all gold and silver ore and 
precious stones found therein ; and to all English subjects, a 
common right of fishery upon the seacoast, or " in any arms of 
the sea, or salt water rivers." 

Remarks. By the union of these colonial territories, a collective strength 
and importance were given to the Province, which might be con- 
sidered a counterbalance to some abridegment of privilege^ 
Though the charter on its arrival was encountered by several 
strong objections, it met with general acceptance ; there being 
great solicitude for the establishment of a stable government. 
The last General Court of the colonial administration closed its 
session. May 6, 1692 ;J when all the public offices in the con- 
stituent sections of the new Province became extinct ;§ and, 

■* 49 Univ. Hist. p. 62. — The Chevalier Villebon hoisted the French flag- 
at Port-Royal, Nov. 26, 1691 ; having- arrived from France to assume the 
command of Nova Scotia. f 1 Belk. N. H. p. 192. 

I The whole number of Deputies in the Massachusetts General Court, 
was now only 29. — The last Court holden at York, July 15th, 1690, under 
the administration of President Danforth, consisted of Major John Davis, 
Deputy-President, Captain Francis Hook, J\lajor Charles Frost, and Captain 
John Wincoln, magistrates, or justices ; when they " ordered," that if any 
ordinary or tavern-keeper should sell any rum, flip or other strong liquor 
to an inhabitant of his town, except in case of sickness or other necessity, 
or more than one gill to a stranger, he should forfeit his license. 

\ It is sniJ, that during- this contest, about the old and the new charter, 
originated, in Massachusetts, the two great political parties. Republicans 
and Loyalists. — Their politics, though assuming, subsequently, new appel- 
lations, continued unchanged to the Revolution. The warm adherents to 
(he democratic principles in the old charter, were very highly esteemed by 
the pcop]c, as liberty-men ; their opponents, professing to be more loyaf, 
subjects, — ciijoj ing, also, more of the king's favor, were denominated roy- 
alists, or prcrogativc-mcn. 



Chap, xxii.] of Maine. g03 

the returning prospect of political quiet and prosperity, was only AiD. 1691. 
darkened by a storm of savage warfare in the eastern region, 
which was already oppressing the inhabitants with intermingled 
bloodshed and distress. 

JVoie 1 — Form of an old-tenor bill. — ' This indented bill of pounds, 

' due from Massachusetts colony to the possessor, shall be in value equal to 
' money ; and shall be accordingly accepted by the Treasurer, and Receivers 
' subordiriate to him, in all public payments, and for any stock at any time in 
* the Treasury. Boston, in New-England, February the third, 1690 ; — By 
' order of the General Court.^ 

JVo/e 2. — Abraham Shurte, Esq. died at Peinaqtiid, about 1680. 

" The deposition of Abraham Shurte, aged fourscore years, or there- 
abouts, saith — 

"That in the j'ear 1626, Alderman Alsworth and Mr. Giles Elbridge of 
Bristol, merchants, sent over this deponent for their agent, and gave 
power to him to buy Monhegan, which then belonged to Mr. Abraham Jen- 
nings of Plymouth, who they understood was willing to sell it ; and having 
conference with his agent, about the price thereof; agreed to fifty pounds, 
and the patent to be delivered up ; and gave him a bill upon Alderman 
Alsworth ; which bill being presented, was paid, as tlie aforesaid wrote me. 
The deponent further saith, that about the year 1629, was sent over unto 
him by the aforenamed Alderman Alsworth and Mr. Elbridge, a patent 
granted by the patentees, for twelve thousand acres of land at Pemaquid, 
with all Islands, islets adjacent, within three leagues ; and for the delivery, 
was appointed Capt. Walter Neale, who gave me possession thereof; and 
bounded the twelve thousand acres for the use above named, from the head 
of the river of Damariscotta, to the head of the river of Muscongus, and 
between it to the sea. Moreover, it was granted by the same patent ; that 
every servant, that they, Alderman Alsworth and Mr. Elbridge did send 
over, one hundred acres of land, and to every one there born, fifty acres 
of land, for the term of the first seven years ; and to be added to the former 
twelve thousand acres — Likewise this deponent saith, that Damariscove 
was included, and belonging to Pemaquid ; it being an Island, situate and 
lying within three leagues of Pemaquid point ; and some 3ears after, Mr. 
Thomas Elbridge coming to Pemaquid, to whom the patent by possession 
did belong and appertain, called a Court, unto which divers of the then 
inhabitants of Monhegan and Damariscove repaired, and continued their 
fishing, paying a certain acknowledgement — and farther saith not." 

" Sworn to, the 25th December, 1662, by Abraham Shurte. 

" Before me, Richard Russell, JUagistrate. 

" Boston, March 28, 1774, recorded in the Secretary's Office, in the 
Book of Patents, fol. 169. 

J. WiLLARD, Secretary.'''' 



604 THE HISTORY [VoL, I. 



CHAPTER XXIIl. 

King William's war — Tlie settlers and natives — Causes of the war 
— First skirmish at North-Yarmouth — Indians arrested — Re-' 
prisals — Nciv-D art mouth and Sheepscot overthroion — Measures 
of Gov. Andros — Change of administration — Destruction of 
Dover — Captives first sold in Canada — Skirmish at Saco — PeiU" 
aquid destroyed — The eastern people all icithdraio to Falmouth 
— The eastern erpeditions of Sioain and Church — The Blohawks — • 
Church has a battle with the enemy at Casco- — Berwick destroyed 
- — Capture oj Fort Loyal and fall of Falmouth — The inhahi- 
tants between the peninsula and Wells, withdraw to the latter — 
Sufferings of captives— 'Attacks of the Indians at Wells, Ber-' 
wick and Kittery — Church's 2f7 expedition — He destroys the forts 
at Pcjepscot — A truce- — Only 4 eastern toions remain — Cape 
JSeddock burnt — Four companies in the public service — A part 
of York burnt — Wells attacked and defended 2ciih great bravery 
• — Gov. Phips builds Fort WilUam Henry — 'Church's 3rZ eastern 
expedition — -Nelson at Quebec gives informatioii of French cx-> 
peditions anticipated — Saco fort built — A treaty- — The Jesuits — 
Their imposition upon the Indians — Conduct of Capt. Chubb — 
He surrenders Fort WilUam Henry-^Church' s 4th eastam expe-i 
dition — He is superseded by Hawthorn — Maj. Frost killed — Last 
hostile acts of the Savages — Peace of Ryswick — Treaty with 
the Indians — Losses, 
A D 1688 The second war with the Indians, long and distressing, com- 
Kiiig Wii- njonh'- called " king WiUiam,h war," developes great varieties 

liam 3 war. •' "^ j i o 

and strong features of character. To numbers living in that gen^ 
The Eng- eration, both colonists and natives, the wilds and solitudes of the 

lisli and In- 

diaus. country unbroken, were fresh in recollection. Born neighbors, 
they were more than half-acquainted with each other's disposi- 
tions, language and habits. In their intercourse, there were some 
instances of mutual confidence and particular friendship j other- 
wise, the two people generally disagreed in every thing, except in 
the common endowments of nature. 

An interval of ten years' peace had enabled the returning in- 
habitants of Maine, to repair the ruins of the last war, and in 
some degree to enlarge the borders of their settlements. The)' 



Chap, xxhi.] of Maine 605 

seemed to exult in their yearly advances upon the heavy-wooded a.d. icgs. 
forest; in their fenced, though rough inclosures, and in their log- 
house cottages ; being quite contented in the enjoyment of civil 
and religious liberty, with the merest competency, the humblest 
comforts and their limited improvements — as the fruits of 
their own enterprize, fortitude and toil. Yet they were destitute 
of sanctuaries for divine worship, schools for their children, 
mills, bridges, and even passable roads. Framed houses, smooth 
fields, and large stocks of cattle, when the instances occurred, 
were in this age accounted w^ealth and luxury. Yes, and happily 
for them, their successes in times past, and the encouraging an- 
ticipations of the future, gave an inspiring influence to motives of 
courage and emulation. Apprehensions of attack or injury 
from the Indians, were the sources of their greatest troubles ; as 
a few garrisons and fortified habitations were, under the Divine 
protection, their principal, if not their only safeguard and shield. 

The natives, on the contrary, ever contemning the arts of 
discipline and culture, were enraged to see the breaches between 
the waters and the woods, continually widened by the axe and 
the toils of the white men ; and to notice the advances of civ- 
ilization stealing upon them like approaching flames. Though 
jt be true that the western Indians, by a coalition and intermar- 
riages with them had partly sustained a declining population : yet 
in a much greater degree, these emigrants had been exciting the 
resentments of the eastern Sagamores, and inflaming them against 
the settlers. 

An union most remarkable, and altogether without precedent, ']'i,e saga- 
was found now to exist among the natives themselves. Most of {]]p["j,^,'^*, 
the Newichawannocks, were lost among the Peuacooks ; both of i^'^'"^** 
them being disposed to regard no longer the dying advice of 
Passaconaway and Rowles,* w'ho had charged them to keep 
peace with the English. If WonnoJancet himself wisely observ- 
ed his father's council ; Kancamagus, another Sagamore of the 
tribe, surnamed John Hagkins,f could not forget the seizure of 
the 400 Indians, and the fatal attack of the Mohawks, in the 
employ of the English. Taking affi-ont also, from some ill usage 
he thought he had received, he paid no great attention to any 
dissuasives, nor to the presents made him by Massachusetts ; for 



Ante, Cliap. 17. f Also called Johu Hawkins.— 1 Belk. JS". H. p. 346. 



606 THE HISTORY [Vol. u 

A. D. 1G88, he had resolved to take arms. JVetombomet,* the successor of 
Squando, complained, that the English interrupted the fishery 
belonging to his tribe in the Saco river ; and he and Robin Do- 
ney, a Sachem of the same tribe, were determined to avenge their 

Sagamores, injuries. The Anasagunticook Sagamore, Warumbee, who had 
succeeded Tarumkin, being encountered in his objections to en- 
croachments, by his own grant to Wharton, in 1684, was ready 
to exclaim boldly and loudly against the new neighboring settle- 
ment at North-Yarmouth; for by the treaty of 1678, it was pre- 
tended, the English were only to enjoy their former possessions, 
not enlarge them. Hopehood, still living, Moxus and Bomaseetiy 
Sagamores of the Canibas tribe, and Toxus,\ a Sachem, or 
chief among the Indians about Norridgewock, were cherishing 
strong suspicions, that in the conveyances of lands upon Kenne- 
beck river by Monquine, Robinhood, Abagadusset and others, 
there was much deception practised. The Wawenocks, after 
the extensive sales of territory by their Sachems, Josle, Witte- 
nose, Obias, and others, became identified with the Canibas 
tribe ; and Jack Pudding or Sheepscot John, is the only Saga- 
more of theirs, mentioned at this period. ~^ The celebrated Ma- 
dockawando was at first an advocate for peace, engaging to nego- 
tiate a treaty, in which " Egeremetl of Machias," and the three 
Etechemin tribes, would in all likelihood have joined ; had not 
the movement been prevented by Baron de Castine. 
Causes of All the Abenaques tribes, instigated by the French, moreover, 
uttered grievous complaints, that the corn, promised by the last 
treaty, had not been paid, and yet their own was destroyed by the 
cattle of the English ; and that they, being deprived of their 
hunting and fishing births, and their lands, were liable to perish 
of hunger. — No changes affected by the cultivator's hand, 
yielded any beauties to their eye. The wild scenery of nature, 
untouched by art, so captivating to the poet, the painter, and the 
rambler, must, for reasons self-evident, afford the untutored savage 
the only desirable places of residence. It was the land of their 
birth, their childhood and their fathers' graves. Bound to their 
native country by a thousand attachments, they resolved not to 



war 



* Called also by other names. f 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 80-1. 

I Moxus had also the name Edgcremet.— 2 J[lag.-530-5i2.~SuIl. p. 147, 
2 Hutch. Hist. p. 359. 



Chip. XXIII.] oP MAINE. 607 

leave it without a most desperate struggle. Hence, nothing dis- A. D. 1688' 
turbed them more, than new settlements and fortifications. 

The plantation begun at North-Yarmouth, they thought to be Attack upon 
a direct encroachment. To deter the inhabitants from complet- momh. 
ing the rising garrison, which ihcy were building on the eastern 
shore of Royall's river; the Indians proceeded to kill several 
cattle, about the settlement on the opposite side, and gave other 
indications of hostility. As the work still progressed with re- 
doubled efforts ; a small party, about the middle of August,* J^^J^^^sl 13 
waylaid two workmen, as they went one mornins; from the settle- ''''^ •""/'"' 

' ' •' ^ iiing of the 

ment, in search of dieir oxen, to labor on the garrison, and made "a""- 
them both prisoners. The rest of the savage party, well armed, 
rushing from the bushes towards the other men, who were going 
to work at the same place, accosted them with insolent language, 
and began to provoke a quarrel. Words were followed by a 
scuffle, in which at first an Indian gave one Larabee a violent 
push, who instantly raising his gun, shot his assailant dead. 
While in the act of firing, he was seized by another sturdy In- 
dian, whom Benedic Pulcifer struck with the edge of his broad- 
axe ; and the skirmish became general, and some fell on both 
sides. 

The English, perceiving themselves inferior in number to their 
foes, withdrew to a place of less exposure under the bank of the 
river, where they defended themselves with great bravery, till 
their ammunition was nearly expended. To a part of the contest, 
Capt. Walter Gendell, at the garrison, was an eyewitness. He 
had long been a fur trader with the Indians, and supposed, from 
the very friendly intercourse he had always had widi them, they 
would not knowingly hurt him. Observing now his friends had 
ceased firing, he took a bag of ammunition, and hastened with a 
servant and a float to their assistance ; standing upright, as the 
servant paddled, that die Indians might know liim. But before 
they were entirely across, each received a fatal shot in his body, 
by particular aim ; and Gendell threw the ammunition ashore, hav- 
ing only time to say before he breathed his last, " I have lost my 
life in your service." Thus supplied, the planters were enabled 



* One account says this was July. — Hutch. Coll. p. 566. — But, 2 JInth. 
.Magnnlidi p. 509, says it was in September ; yet lie says, the attack on 
Sheepscot, " was soon after ;" which was September 5th. — Stdlivan, p. 185, 
mistakes the rear. — Sec I Hutrh. Hi<tf. p. :{25. 



608 THE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A. D. 1688. to maintain their ground — the engagement continuing till dusk, 
when the Indians retreated.* Our loss was two killed, besides 
Capt. Gendell, whose death was deeply lamented. He was one 
of the trustees, to whom the township had been confirmed, and 
a man of enterprize and worth. Several of the Indians were 
killed, and the survivors passed the night upon Lane's Island. 
Here they had a horrid carousal, in which they butchered the 
two wretched men taken in the morning, and another brought 
with them ; leaving their mangled bodies above ground. It is 
said to have been an usage among the savages, to make as many 
of their prisoners victims, as they lost of their own men in battle. 
This attack wholly frustrated and prevented the settlement of 
North-Yarmouth for several years. The inhabitants soon remov- 

Jewel's ed from the garrison to Jewel's Island — in hopes by repairing the 
fort there, to render themselves secure. But they were pursued 
by their inveterate enemies, and were barely able to defend them- 
selves successfully, against a violent attack. They were after- 
wards taken off by a vessel, and carried to Boston, 

Twenty In- This bloody affair alarmed and aroused the people upon the 

elfat Saco^" whole coast. The temper, and some threats of the Sokokis, ex- 
cited strong suspicions against them ; and it was believed, they 
had, contrary to the treaty, withholden the knowledge they pos- 
sessed of the intended rupture. To bring them to terms, and 
discover more perfectly the secret springs of these hostile move- 
ments, Benjamin Blackman, Esq. a justice of the peace at Saco, 
issued a warrant to Capt. John Sargent, by whom about eighteen 
or twenty of them were arrested, especially tliose who were the 
known ringleaders in the last war, and all were sent under a 
strong guard to Fort Loyal. They were subsequently transported 
to Boston, and there discharged by Gov. Andros. 

Reprisnis at To counteract this policy, the Indians began to make reprisals. 

hod(. '* Nine were made prisoners about Sagadahock ; the houses on the 
north margin of Merrymeeting bay were plundered ; and the in- 
habitants, who made resistance, were murdered in a barbarous 
manner. The Indians soon after killed several of their captives 



* Mr. Willis states, that Capt. Gendell was sent thither with a compa- 
ny of men, to construct stockades on both sides of Royall's river, where he 
was attacked by 70 or 80 Indians ; and in the skirmish, several were killed on 
both sides — and John Royall was taken prisoner, and ransomed by Castine. 
— 1 Coll. Elaine llisl. Sue. ]). 195. 



Chap, xxiii.] OF MAINE. 609 

in a drunken frolic,* and sent the rest to Teconnet. Next, they a.d ig88 
proceeded to New-Dartnionth [Newcastle] — a town which had 
become remarkably flourishing. It had been patronized by Gov- 
ernor Dungan, and much enlarged and improved by Dutch emi- 
grants ; being accounted, as one author says, " the garden of the 
east."f Within it was also a fortification, which proved to most of 
the inhabitants a timely asylum. In approaching the place, the 
Indians, September 5th, first secured Henry Smith and his fam-Sept.5, G. 
ily, and deferred a further attack till the next day ; when they 
made Edward Taylor and his family prisoners. To this interval 
evidently, may bs ascribed, under Providence, the preservation 
of the people ; for they all had retired to the garrison, when the [>jp„..p)f,r,. 
onset was made ; and the Indians, flouting in disappointment, set "',"'"'' "'"^ 

' 'Oil S;liee|;scot 

fire to the deserted houses, and reduced the whole of them ex-^ie^'ro^ed. 
cept two or three to ruins. As an instance of their perfidy and 
barbarism, they abused the man sent from the fort to treat with 
them, and then assassinated him. There was a fort on the banks 
of the Sheepscot river, which, with all the buildings were destroy- 
ed about this time| and the settlement entirely broken up. The 
overthrow of these ancient plantations was truly a fatal catastro- 
phe. The Dutch settlers migrated from this quarter, never to re- 
turn ; and the places themselves, so lately and so long inhabited 
and flourishing, lay waste about thirty years. The concluding 
outrage of this year, was the captivity of Barrow and Bussey, 
with their families, between Winter-harbor and Kennebunk, who 
were probably carried to Teconnet, the general depository of 
prisoners. 

The interposition and policy of Governor Andros, in this emer- Measures of 
gency, were attended with no memorable advantages. His dis- dros! 
missal of the Indian prisoners — his proclamation, October 20th, 
commanding the Sagamores to surrender the guilty Indians — his 
deputation sent to Falmouth and Maquoit fbr the purpose of treat- 

* 1 Hutchinson's History, p. 326. f 2 Mather's Magnalia, p. 507-9. 

I Sullivan, [p. 165] by inistalie, says " 1600;" buttliat year was a time 
of profound peace. — In the winter following', [viz. in A. D. 1688-9J Gov. 
Andros placed a garrison at New-Dartmouth, or Newcastle, of 24 regu*-' 
lars and 60 militia ; he also left men in the fort at Sheepscot. Upon the 
revolution, in April, 16S9, he says, of the fort at Newcastle, most of tho 
men were drawn off, and others debauched — they seized their officer and 
carried him a prisoner to Boston, and thereupon the fort was desarled. 
Vol. I. 64 



610 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1689. ing with them — his army of 7 or 800, led by him into the eastern 
country — accomplished nothing. Only the establishment of gar- 
risons, as previously stated,* were productive of any good effects. 
The Indians were scattered through the interior wilderness during 
the winter ; and in the spring, the reins of government, amidst a 
sudden revolution, as before noticed, were changed into other 
hands. 
April. Jn April, the administration of public affairs in Maine, under 

administra- the direction of Massachusetts, was resumed by President Dan- 

liou. _ . , 

forth and the Provincial Council ; Maj. Frost and Col. Tyng 
were appointed to command the western and the eastern regi- 
ments ; and the forts underwent a review and thorough revision. 
Though Castine, according to report, had the preceding year, 
instigated the Indian fighters to hostilities, by furnishing every 
one of them with a roll of tobacco, a pound of powder and two 
pounds of lead ; it was still thought by many, that good manage- 
ment might prevent a war. JMadockawando, his neighbor, a 
Sagamore of great power and influence, had strongly expressed 

, _ himself in favor of peace, and promised to negotiate a Ireatyf . 

^f^i|""^'i°° I^"t the awful destruction of Cocheco [now Dover] f in New- 
Hampshire, June 7, blasted every expectation. The seizure of 
400 Indians at that place, more than twelve years before, was a 
transaction never to be forgotten, — never to be forgiven by sav- 
ages. Lapse of time had only wrought their resentments into 
animosities, malice and rage ; and an opportunity now offered, to 
satiate their revenge. Two squaws, that fatal night, begged lodg- 
ings within the garrison ; and when all was quiet, they opened 
the gates and gave the signals. In a moment, every apartment 
was full of Indians, and several rushed towards the door of the 
room, in which Major Waldron was asleep. Aroused by the 
noise, he sprang out of bed, though eighty years of age, and 
drove them through two doors with his sword. Turning back 
for his pistols, he was stunned by the blow of a hatchet, dragged 
into the hall, and seated in an elbow chair upon a long table. 
They then cut long gashes across his breast and loins with 
their knives, exclaiming with every stroke " I cross out my ac- 
count." His nose and ears they slashed off, and forced them 
into his mouth ; and when, through anguish and loss of blood, 

* Ante, chap. xxii. A. D. 1689. t 6 Mass. Rec. p. 8. 

I 2 Math. Ma^:. p. 511.— 1 Belk N. II. 200. 



Chap, xxiii.] of MAINE. 611 

he was falling from the table, one held his own sword under him, A.D. 1689. 
which put an end to his life and his misery.* Besides setting 
fire to the mills and five dwcllinghouses, which were consumed, 
they killed twenty-three of the inhabitants and took twenty-nine 
captive, whom they carried into Canada and sold to the French. 

This merchandize of prisoners gave to Indian warfare and Captive* 
Indian captivities, a new character. To prevent bloodshed, to Canada, 
preserve life, to take captive the greater number uninjured, and 
to treat them better, — these were some of the effects incident to 
the practice, when it became one ; for the premiums, which the 
Indians received of the French for a captive, bore some propor- 
tion to his appearance and worth. The sale, however, was not 
an unhappy event either to the country or to the captives them- 
selves, especially if they had the fortune to become family-ser- 
vants. Still they were not unfrequently urged and pressed by 
every seducing art, to embrace the popish religion, and some- 
times they were kept in confinement, until they were ransomed. 

The inhabitants were always in danger of being killed or taken Manner of 
captive unawares. For the Indians never intended to be dis- fa,.e. 
covered, before they did execution. Their courage was not 
manly — they feared to face their foes, or fight in the open field. 
By ' skulking' under fences near the doors of dwellinghouses, and 
lying in wait behind logs and bushes about woodland paths, they 
achieved their principal exploits. The time of attack was usu- 
ally at an early hour in the morning ; and it has been known by 
their own confession, after they have assaulted a house or sacked 
a neighborhood, that they have lain in ambush for days together, 
watching the people's motions, and considering the most favora- 
ble moment for making an attack. They were sparing of their 
ammunition — therefore their guns made a small report. f In 

* Major Richard Waldron, a native of England, was one of the early 
settlers in Ncw-IIampsliire. He had represented Dover in the General 
Court of Massachusetts, 25 years, and was sometimes speaker of the house. 
In 1679, he was elected by the inliabitants of Kitlsry, their deputy, Ihoug-h 
anon-resident. He was a man of true courage and military merit; and 
a ]ong time commanded the New-Hampshire regiment. He was Vice- 
President under Mr. Cutts ; and in 1681, at the head of that Province. 
Seldom is a man more deserving, seldom more beloved. — See his Character 
in the Grafton Journal, JN". H. June, 1825. 

f Soon after the revolution, the troops stationed at Fort Loyal, it ap- 
pears, were withdrawn ; and the fort loft to the care of the people. In 



612 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. 1). 1G83. the bolder assaults, they often yelled and shouted. One of their 

secret feats was at Saco. Four young men going out, in July, 

A skiriTiish to catch and bridle their horses, fell into an ambush, and were all 

al Saco. 

killed at the first shot. To bury the slain, a company of twenty- 
four men, well armed, pi'oceeded to the place, upon whom a 
body of Indians fired from their covert, and sprang forward to the 
attack. A severe encounter ensued, in which they were at first 
driven to a swamp ; then returning with an auxiliary force and 
infuriated spirits, they compelled their antagonists to retreat, with 
a loss of six left upon the ground.* 
August 2. The garrison at Pemaquid, under the command of Captain 
desuo^ed' Weems, was a particular object of savage vengeance. Being 
only a kind of resting place for the inhabitants, it was poorly 
manned, since Brockholt and all the men, except Weems and 15 
men, had left it, and in quite an unfit condition to repel an assault. 
One Starkie, in passing from it, Aug. 2, to New-Harbor, was 
seized by a party of Indians, who threatened him, yet promised 
him favor, if he would tell them what he knew about the fort. 
To save his own life, hetold them with too much truth, that Mr. 
Giles and fourteen men were then gone to his farm at the falls ; 
and that the people were scattered about the fort, and few in it 
able to fight. The Indians then divided into two bands ; one 
went and cut off Giles and his companions, and the other attack- 
ed the garrison with a fierceness and perseverance, that forced a 



June, they stated to g-overument that tlie men in the fort were few and 
worn down with fatijjuc and that the\- had onl}' 20 balls for the great guns, 
and 3 1-2 bbls of powder, — but no provision — nor a musket belonging to 
the g-arrison. — 1 CoH. Jlaine Hist. Soc. p. 197. 

* 2 Math. Magnnl. p. 512. — About this time, the garrison-house of Do- 
minicus Jordan, son of P.cv. Robert Jordan, at Spurwink, was violently 
assailed b^' the sava^-cs, which lie defended wilh bravery and success. To 
intimidate him, an Indian called to him loudly, 'we are ten hundred in 
'number;' — '• I don't care," replied Jordan, *' if yon are ten thousand." 
A few years afterwards, perhaps at the commencement of the third Indian 
war, several Indians visiting liis house, were received with familiajilj-, 
common in time of peace; when one inflicted a mortal blow upon his head, 
exclaiming, ' ^/lere, Domimcws .' now kill ^em ten thr.iisand Indian! The 
family were ail made prisoners and carried to Canada ; and Mary-Ann, who 
married a Frenchman, at Trois Revieres, never returned. A son, of his 
father's name, Dominicus, lived on the old estate, at Spurwink, and was 
representative from Falmouth in the General Court, several years. lie died 
in 1749, aged QQ. Samuel, his brother, settled in Saco. — Folsom, p. 181. 



Chap. XXIII-] , OF .MAINE. 613 

surrender. The terms of capitulation were life, liberty and a.d. igs9. 
safety — all which were violated ; the savages butchering some, 
and making prisoners of others. About the same time, Captains 
Skinner and Farnhan), coming to the shore, from a neighboring 
Island, were shot dead as they were stepping from their boat upon 
the ledge ; and Capt. Pateshall, whose vessel was lying in the 
barbacan, was also taken and killed.* 

Reduced to despair by these fatalities, which were aggravated The eastern 
by fresh depredations of the Indians upon the Kennebeck, and by wjljliiraw ^o 
Acadian privateers upon the coast, the inhabitants eastward of '""'''" 
Falmouth withdrew to that town, or removed to other places of 
more security. The forts eastward were abandoned, and a wide 
country, lately adorned with settlements, herds and fields, exhib- 
ited all the forms and facts of a melancholy waste, f 

In defence of the remaining towns and settlements of the Committee 

. . °f safety. 

Province, President Danforth, his Council, and the people, resolv- 
ed to use every precaution and effort. He appointed in each of 
them a committee of six men, J whom he empowered and direct- 
ed to order scouts and watches ; to regulate and equip their mili- 
tia ; to dispose of the people in forts and fortified houses ; and 
to do whatever else they in the exercise of sound discretion 
might judge expedient for the public safety. He also directed 
an account to be taken, of all the resident inhabitants within 
the Province, and of all who had left it. 

To confirm, moreover, the fortitude of the people, and protect \iassachu« 
them — to overawe or fright the enemy — and to settle and strength- ?^''* *^'"'* 

o J o ()00 men 

en the garrisons ; Massachusetts ordered 600 men to be raised, eastward, 
by detachments from the militia or by voluntary enlistments, and 
gave the command to Maj. Swaine. His place of rendezvous 
was at Newichawannock, from which his forces, Aug. 28th, August 28. 



* 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 352. — Charlevoix [2 vol. ofJ^.F. p. 417] says, the In- 
dians possessed Ibemselvcs of ten or twelve stone houses and a street ; and 
at nig^ht summoned the commander of the fort to surrender ; when an 
Englishman sung out, " I am fatigued and must sleep first." — It was under- 
stood there were about an hundred people that belonged to the fort and 
village ; but when thej- surrendered, (as he states, on the 20th of August,) 
the commander appeared at the head of fourteen men only, being all that 
remained of the men, attended by some women, and a few children. 

t Math, Mag. p. 512. 

J Those of Falmouth were Capt. Sylvanus Davis, and Brackett, Inger- 
soll, Clark, Gallison and Andrews. — 6 Mas$. Rec. p. 68-9, 



614 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1689. took up their march eastward. One of his officers was the brave 
Capt. Hall, who had distinguished himself in king Philip's war ; 
and one of his companies, consisting of 90 Natick Indians, was 
commanded hy Captain Lightfoot. The garrisons were now sup- 
plied with soldiei's, and furnished with ammunition, 'corn, rye, 
biscuit, salt, and clothing ;' and Swaine happily arrived in season 
to drive the enemy from Blue-point and Falmouth. In chasing 
the savages from Fort Loyal, Capt. Hall lost about ten of his 
best soldiers. 

Swaine was soon followed into the Province, and a part of his 

Benjamin ... 

Church. forces jomed, by the celebrated Benjamin Church* at the head 

of 250 volunteers, English and Indians, whom he had enlisted in 

New-Plymouth and Rhode Island. He was commissioned, Sep- 

°P'" ■ tember 6th, by the government of Massachusetts, with the rank 

of Major, to the chief command of all the troops in service. It 

President appears furthermore, that President Danforth, then presiding in a 

orders. scssion at Boston, holden by the Commissioners of the United 
Colonies, f superadded a mandatory order, addressed to all the 
authorities of the Province, which he presented to Major Church, 
in these words. 

Sept. ic. ^^ Boston, September, \&th, 1689. 

" To all sheriffs, marshals, constables, and other officers, mili- 
" tary and civil, in their Majesties' Province of Maine. 

" Whereas, pursuant to an agreement of the Commissioners of 
•' the United Colonies, Major Benjamin Church is commission- 
" ed Commander-in-Chief, over that part of their Majesties* 
" forces, levied for the present expedition against the common 
" enemy, whose head-quarters are appointed to be at Falmouth, 
" in Casco bay : — 

" In their Majesties' names, you, and every of you, are 
" required to be aiding and assisting, to the said Major Church in 
*' his pursuit of the enemy, as any emergency shall require ; and 
" so impress boats and other vessels, carts, carriages, horses, 
" oxen, provisions, ammunition, men for guides, &tc. as you shall 

* He was born at Diixbury, A. D. 1639, and died in 1718 ; a man of mil- 
itary talents, piety and influence. No one's name struck greater terror to 
tiic Indians. 

t The Board consisted of Thomas Danforth, President and Elisha Cook, 
from Massachusetts; Thomas Hinkley and John Walley, of Plymouth col- 
ony ; and Samuel Mason and William Pitkin, of Connecticut. 



Chap, xxiii.] OF MAINE. gl5 

"receive warrants from the said chief Commander, or his Lieu- a.d. 1689. 
"tenant so to do. You may not fail to do the same speedily and 
*' efFectually, as you will answer your neglect and contempt of 
" their Majesties' authority and service at your utmost peril. 

" Given under my hand and seal, the day and year above 
" written, Annoque Regni, Regis et Reginae WUlielmi et Ma- 
rine primo. 

" By Thomas Danforth, President 

"of the Province of Maine." 
The United Colonies of New-England now made the war a lusimnions 
common cause, and on the 1 Sth, gave the commander his instruc- Unhrd Coi- 
tions. By these, he was directed to keep out scouts and a for-"'""" 
lorn hope before his main body, to avoid every ambush, to 
promise the soldiery, besides their stipulated wages, the benefit 
of all the captives and lawful plunder taken, and a fuiiher reward 
of £8 for every Indian fighting-man slain ; and in general to pun- 
ish all drunkenness and profanity, and see that the army observe 
the worship of Almighty God, by morning and evening prayers 
and the sanctification of the Sabbath. He was also instructed to 
cooperate with Major Swaine, in all practicable cases; and to 
consult with Capt. Sylvanus Davis, of Falmouth — a man of ac- 
knowledged acquaintance with the Indians and the eastern affairs.* 

The Commissioners furthermore endeavoured to persuade the Moimwkf 
brave Mohawks into the eastern service : — it might, as it was ob- J,hi"*inio' 
served to them, open a new field of glory. But they said, JVb — """ "^"'""*^^" 
we have fought our oivn battles ivith the French, and burnt Mon- 
treal to the ground. We are by treaty the allies of the English j 
we promise to preserve the chain unbroken. Amity is a river re- 
freshing to us as to you — and we wish the sun ever to shine in 
peace over our heads. We have no will to go iviih gun and 
hatchet against the " Onagounges,''''\ — as the eastern Indians 
were collectively called by them. 

The successes and cruelties of the Mohawks, and their un- 
changing friendship for the English, from whom they received a 
supply of weapons and ammunition, produced among the Cana- 
dians the sharpest and most inveterate feelings of revenge. M. 
de Callieres, the military commander of the country, having con- 



wnr. 



* Churcli's Expedition, (edition 1710) p. 96. 

t 6 Mass. Rcc. p. 71. — 1 Holmes' A. Ann. p. 477. 



616 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1689. ceived the project of subduing the entire Province of New-York, 
by an attack upon the northern parts, with an army, and upon the 
south, by a naval force, went to France, and prevailed upon the 
king to afford the assistance requested. The fleet and troops 
arrived at Chebucta in Nova Scotia, and himself and Count 
Frontenac, who had lately been reappointed Governor of Cana- 
da, reached Quebec soon after the destruction of Montreal. 
Astonished and dismayed at the calamities and confusion of the 
country, they immediately felt the imperious necessity of aban- 
doning the expedition altogether ; and the fleet returned to 
France. 
September. Major Cliurcli arrived at Falmouth in the latter part of Sep- 
^ki'imtshes Member, though* not before Major Swaine and a part of his 
ai Kni- force had retired, to the rendezvous at Nevvichawannock. Land- 
ing his men near Fort Loyal in the dusk of the evening, Church 
disposed of them in the garrison and neighboring houses. Hall, 
Southworth and Davis, were some of his Captains ; and Num- 
posh commanded the Seconet and Cape Indians. The principal 
intelligence, he received of the enemy, was from Mrs. Lee, Maj. 
Waldron's daughter, who, after being made a captive at Cocheco, 
had been rescued by a colonial privateer. She stated, that the 
army of Indians she left, had 80 canoes, and they said their 
company consisted of 700 men. She saw several Frenchmen 
among them, and understood, the whole force was preparing to 
attack Fort Loyal. The truth of her story was confirmed by 
the report of a spy or scout, who said he had the preceding day, 
seen at a distance a large body of the enemy. 

Church, fully acquainted with the Indian modes of war and 
fighting, marched his forces, an hour before day, towards the 
woods not far from the head of Back Cove, and halted them in 
a thicket, about half a mile northwesterly from the garrison. 
The Indians had already landed upon the other or westerly side 
of the Cove, and a scout had taken Anthony Brackett,f one of 
the principal inhabitants, a prisoner. A brisk firing was com- 
menced in his orchard, by an advanced force under Capt. Hall, 

* Tliis time is supposed (o be correct frosn the whole narrative; though 
Church in his " Expeditions" is not particular as to lime or place. Gov- 
ernor Siillivnn has described some of t!ic places. — Sull. p. 202. 

t Son of the one killed in the last Tvar. — 3 Math. Mag. p. 528. 



Chap, xxin.] of maixe. 617 

after they had forded over, which alarmed the town, and drew A. D. icsa. 
to him a reenforcement under Church himself, with an additional ^^ rmishes 
supply of ammunition. It seems the cove at this place was "'f^ui'i- 
narrow, and the Indians on the farther side were so near its mar- 
gin, that Church's men were able to reach the enemy with their 
shots, over the heads of Hall's soldiers. Church next proceeded 
in haste up the cove 80 or 100 rods, determined to pass over to 
the same side, join Hall, and attack the Indians in the rear. The 
latter, desirous to prevent it, met him and his troops, and advanced 
to attack them ; manoeuvring to prevent their junction with 
Capt. Hall, but being unable, they retreated into the woods. 
Major Church at this juncture, finding the bullets two large for 
the caliber of the guns, ordered casks of tlicm to be cut into 
slugs, — still resolved to pursue the enemy. But as the day was 
far spent, he concluded finally to return, with his dead and wound- 
ed, to the fort. — The campanions of Southwor»h and Numposh, 
afforded Hall and his company timely and signal assistance. 
In the midst of the action, the Indian Captain Lightfoot, perceiv- 
ing, that their ammunition was nearly exhausted, passed over, 
and taking a cask of powder upon his head, and a kettle of bullets 
in each hand, repassed to them in safety. Church represents 
the enemy to have conducted with courage and considerable 
policy, during the action. They divided, and a party construct- 
ed an opposing breastwork of logs, which they stuck full of 
bushes to screen them from view, and prevent his cooperation 
with Hall and his company. The Indians in their flight threw 
themselves into a cedar-swamp ; and the reason assigned by 
Church, why he did not intercept their retreat, was the intervening 
rough and bushy grounds. The loss to the English is said to 
have been 21 or 22 killed and wounded; — of the former, six be- 
longed to Capt. Hall's company, and of the latter, six were In- 
dian friend?.* 

Major Church then proceeded to Kennebeck, which he ascend- t'i,,. ,i;s,rej, 
ed several leagues ; and returning, ranged the coast, revisited the "|g"*" ^^°" 
garrisons and sailed for Boston ; leaving 60 soldiers quartered at 
Fort Loyal, under the brave Capt. Hall. Many of the suffering 
people entreated him to take them away in his transports ; and 



* Church's Expedition, p. 89-106— and Letter to the Governor of Massa- 
chusetts.- Su/Zavan, p. 202-3. 
Vol. I. 65 



618 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A, D. 1689. Capt. Scottow of Black-point, who accompanied him, complain- 
ed, that President Danforth, by requiring of them provisions for 
a supply of the military, had brought them into great distress. 

Count Frontenac, anxious to raise his credit among the Cana- 
dians and Indians, and to distinguish himself by some enterprizes 
against the American subjects of king William, with whom his 
master was at war in Europe, projected three expeditions against 
the English colonists. One of them, despatched from Montreal, 
destroyed Schenectady, a Dutch village on the Mohawk river, 
FeS.8, 1690. Feb. 8th, 1690 ; committing the most atrocious cruelties.* The 
dy desiroy- Other two proceeded against the outer settlements of Maine. 

Until this period, the frontiers had a respite from Indian war- 
fare, during the winter months ; as the deep snows and cold 
weather were a security against incursions. But the French had 
now joined the Indians, and became actors and partakers in 
scenes, which ought to put every mortal, calling himself a chris- 
tian, to the blush. 

Newichawannock, [Berwick] which suffered so much in the 
last war, had more than revived — as it contained, according to 
Charlevoix, 27 houses. To destroy this flourishing plantation} a 
party arrived, March 18th, from Trois Revieres, under the com- 
mand of the Sieur Hartel, or Artel, a Canadian oflicer of distin- 
guished reputation. The whole number was fifty-two men, of 
whom twenty-five were Indians, under the famous Hopehood. 
They commenced the assault at daybreak, in three different 
places. The people, though entirely surprized, flew to arms, and 
defended themselves in their garrisoned houses, with a bravery 
applauded by Hartel himself. They fought till thirty-four of the 
men were killed ; but in this, as in most other such onsets, the 
assailants, having altogether the advantage, forced the people to 
surrender at discretion. The number of prisoners were 54, of 
whom the greater part were women and children. The assailants 
then took all the plunder they could consume or carry away, and 
set on fire most of the houses, the mills and barns, which with a 
great number of cattle were consumed. 

The party with their prisoners and booty now retreated, pursu- 
ed by about 150 men, in the vicinity, aroused to arms by the 
smoke of the burning village ; who came up with Hartel in the 



■+ Williams' Vermont, p. 293. 



Chap, xxiii.] OF MAINE. 619 

afternoon, at a narrow bridge over Wooster river. Expecting an A.D. 1690. 
attack, the latter posted his men advantageously on the opposite . , . . , 

' ^ . . . A skirmish. 

bank, when a sharp engagement ensued, which lasted till night. 
Four or five of the pursuers were killed, and the enemy lost 
three men, two of whom were Indians, and the other Hartel's 
nephew ; his son, also, was wounded. Another Frenchman was 
taken prisoner, who was treated so tenderly, that he remained 
with the English and embraced the protestant faith. He said the 
French and Indians were severally receiving from the Canadian 
government, the monthly wages of ten livres.* 

The third expedition, meditated by Frontenac, was sent against May. 
Falmouth. There were at that lime upon the peninsula, three nnVrort' 
fortifications besides Fort Loyal. One was near the present J;;^J;gj_^'' 
burying-ground ; another was on the rocky elevation southerly of 
the new court-house, almost indefensible ; and the third, in a 
better condition, was further westward, near the water-side. The 
public garrison had been under the command of Capt. Willard, 
of Salem ; but, on his being ordered abroad, to pursue the ene- 
my, he was succeeded by Capt. Sylvanus Davis, who, it seems, 
had only a small number of regular troops left with him. 

The body of French and Indians, collected to destroy this 
place, was sent under the command of M. Burneffe, and con- 
sisted of 4 or 500 men.f His Lieutenant was M. Cortc. de 
]\larch, who was a leader in taking Schenectady. The greater 
part of the Frenchmen were from Quebec, under one M. de 
Portneuf ; 55 men were mustered at Trois Revieres, of whom 
25 were AlgonquinsJ and Sokokis ; and all, it is stated, were met 
by Hartel on his return, and rcenforced by a part of his men. 
To these were united an unknown number of Indians from 
the eastward, under Castine§ and Madockawando. The whole 
were seen passing over Casco bay, in a great flotilla of canoes, 
early in May ; and were, it seems, deterred from an immediate 
attack, by a knowledge, and possibly a view of the squadron un- 

* 1 Bdk. JV. //. p. 2U7. — Charlevoix says2,0C'0 head of cattle were burnt 
in the barns. This must be an exag-geration. 

f J>/r. Jilather, (2 Magna!, p. 524,) says 400. Cut Capt. Davis says 4 or 
500 French and Indians set upon the fort, May I6th, 1690. — His Lelier, I 
Coll. Jlas.i. Hist. Soc. p. 104-5, 3fi scries. — But Charlevoix says Portneuf 
commanded. lie also siys there were four small forls near the g-arrison. 

J 40 Universal History, p. 56-7. ^ Church's Expedition, p. 106. 



620 'T'^E HISTORY [Vol. r. 

A.D. iCDO.der Commodore Phips, which must have passed these coasts 

towards Nova Scotia, about the same time. 
Attack upon Nothins; more was heard of the enemy till about the 10th of 

l^aliiiouili. ^ 1 1 • 1 • 1 

Ma • 10 ^^^^ month ; when a bold party approaciied withm three or lour 
miles of Fort Loyal, probably in the north-westerly skirts of Fal- 
mouth, and drove off twenty cattle, supposed afterwards to be 
slaughtered for the use of the army. The inhabitants conjectur- 
ed from this circumstance, that the head-quarters of the Indians 
must be in that direction; and President Danforth ordered JVJajor 
Frost to detach, without delay, 100 men from the provincial 
militia, to be joined by a party from the garrison ; all of whom, 
under Captain Willard, were directed to proceed in the search 
and pursuit of the enemy.* When they departed, the command 
of Fort Loyal was assumed by Captain Sylvanus Davis, as pre- 
viously mentioned. 

jj.^ , jr Early in the morning of the 16th, one Robert Greason, going 

from home, at Presumpscot river, was seized by an Indian scout 
and made a prisoner. This bold arrest induced the general sus- 
picion, that the enemy was watching in that quarter for an advan- 
tageous surprize o! the town. To make discoveries, therefore, 
about thirty young volunteer soldiers, under Lieut. Thaddeus 
Clark, proceeded from the garrison, about half a mile, to an em- 
inence, evidently Mountjoy's hill ; and entered a lane which was 
fenced on each side, and led to a block house in the margin of 
the woods. Observing the stare of the cattle in the field, they 
suspected an ambush behind the fence, and yet all rashly ran 
towards the place, raising the shout, huzza ! huzza ! But the 
aim of the cowering spies was too sure and deadly ; for they 
brought Clark and thirteen of his comrades to the ground at the 
first shot ; the rest fleeing, upon a second charge, to one of the 
forts. Flushed with this success, the French and Indians rush- 
ed into town, and beset the several fortifications, except Fort 
Loyal, with great fury. All the people, who were unable to 
make good their retreat within the walls, were slain. Af"ter a 
manly defence through the day, the volunteers and inhabitants 
finding their ammunition nearly exhausted, and despairing of re- 



* It was a uiisfortiiue to Casco, Ihunq-li n'jt to Willard, that lie, so cjuali- 
ficfl an officer, shoul 1 l^e '• called orT (wo or tfirce days Lcfore" the attack. 
--2 .'Un/'jc^'* J/afT'i.n'/a, ji 524. 



Chap, xxiii.] of .mai.ne. 621 

cruiis or supplies, retired under the covert of darkness to the pub- A. D. IGOO. 
lie garrison. 

The assailants, next morning, finding the village abandoned, 
plundered the houses and set them on fire. They then proceeded 
to stonn the garrison. Thwarted in this attempt, and sustaining 
considerable loss from the fort guns, they entered a deep contig- 
uous gully, too low to be reached by the shots of their antago- 
nists, and began the work, at some distance, of undermining the 
walls. Four days and nights, they wrought with indefatigable 
and incessant exertion, till within a few feet of the fort, when 
they demanded a surrender. 

It was a crisis trying in the extreme to all within the walls, fi^i-rison of 
They were exhausted with fatigue and anxiety. The greater Ja'oiiui'a'ies. 
part of the men were killed or wounded. Capt. Lawrence had 
received a shot whicli was mortal. All thoughts of outward suc- 
cor or relief were fraught with deep despair ; and on the 20th* niay 29. 
a parley was commenced, which terminated in articles of capitu- 
lation. By these it was stipulated, that all within the garrison 
should receive kind treatment, and be allowed to go into the 
nearest provincial towns under the protection of a guard : — to 
the faith and observance of which Castine " lifted his hand and 
swore by the everlasting God." The gates were then opened, 
when a scene ensued, which shocks humanity. The prisoners, who 
were seventy in number, besides women and children, were called 
heretics, rebels and traitors, the dupes of a Dutch usurper, and 
treated with every insult and abuse. No part of the articles was 
regarded. Capt. Davis, who was one of the prisoners, says, ' the 

* French suffered our women and children and especially the 
' wounded men, to be cruelly murderedf or destroyed after the 

* surrender ; and the rest, being 3 or 4 with himself, took up a 
' march of 24 days to Quebec.'f The whole number of prison- 



* Charlevoix s:i\s 2Ttli i\Iay ; but Capt. Davis says (lie enemy forced a 
surrender llie 20th of May. lie liiinsclf was at Quebec 4 months; and was 
finally cxclianored fur a Frenchman taken by Sir William Phips. — C/iarle. 
voix [3 vol. JV'. F. p. 135] says the Canibas and other Abenuqucs Indians 
»■ laid waste 30 leag'ues of country," this year. 

■f Nathaniel White, the Indians tied to a stake, " and cut off one of his 
ears and made him cat it raw." 

t Capt. Davis says, '• Frontenac blamed Burnoffc for breaking (heir 
oaths." 



622 I'HE HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A.D. 1C90. ers, including some taken in the vicinity, was about a hundred. 
Faimouih Capt. Willard and his men had not returned. The fortifications 

destroyed. ^ 

were all laid waste, and the dead bodies of the inhabitants were 
left to bleach and moulder above ground. Such was fallen Fal- 
mouth — a spectacle of homicide, ruin and melancholy.* 
All the east- The Capture of Fort Loyal was Considered a great calamity. 
whiurraw^ The victorious enemy, ranging through the country, and rioting on 
to Vv ells. ^|-|g spoils, threatened the destruction of the entire Province. 
All within the fortifications of Purpooduck, Spurwink, Black- 
point and Blue-point, departed without orders, to Saco, thence 
proceeded in a few days to Wells [Kennebunk] and thence to 
Storer's garrison. Here they were reenforced and ordered by 
government to abide and resist all attacks. 
Sufleriiigs To mention the hardships and sufferings of a few captives, 
capti\es. |^]^gjj gj- Newichawannock and Falmouth, will give some idea, 
though a faint one, of an Indian captivity. They were com- 
pelled to travel through pathless deserts and deep swamps ; over 
craggy mountains and windfalls ; in rain, cold and snow ; and 
oftentimes barefoot, half-naked and half-starved. By day and 
by night they were exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather 
and always oppressed with the excruciating pains of mind, aris- 
ing from remembrance of lost homes, friends and social scenes. 
In travelling, they were loaded with burdens, pushed forward by 
the points of weapons — not unfrequently tortured, or made the 
victims of instant death. 
Robert Robert Rogers, a corpulent man, taken at Newichawannock, 

Rogers. ^]jg March previous, being unable to carry his burden further, 
threw it down, fled and secreted himself. The Indians found him 
by his footsteps, hidden in a hollow tree. They stript him, beat 
him most cruelly, pricked him with the points of their swords 
and knives and tied him to a tree ; then building a fire near him, 
bidding him take leave of his friends and say his prayers, 
they pushed up the fire to his flesh, danced around him, and, 
cutting collops from his body, threw them bleeding into his face. 
With his back to the stake, they left him broihng in the fire, till 
he was consumed. 

* Charlevoix [3 ro/. JV. F. p. 7S] says there were eight pieces of cannon 
mounted in the fort. No want of ammunition ; and wlien the prisoners 
marched out of the fort, 50 in all, the savajes raised a shout, fell tipoa them 
with hatchet and sword and killed all except four, and these were wounded. 



Chap, xxiii.] of mai.ne. 623 

Mary Plaisted, made a captive at the same time and place, a.d. 1690. 
three weeks after confinement, was compelled to lie on the cold ^j^p' ^'*'*' 
ground and open air with her infiint, both quivering and starving. 
After travelling many days through swamps and snows — over 
logs, rocks and mountains, she could not move another step. 
Her Indian master coming to her, seized her infant, and, stripping 
off its rags, dashed out its brains against a tree and threw it into 
the river. Now, said he, ' you are eased of your burden — you 
* can walk faster.' 

To mention the painful case of one other sufferer, taken with ,^j^^^, p^^^, 
the precedmg tv/o,* will suffice for this place. Mary Furguson, S"^""- 
a girl of 15, was so overburdened with plunder, laid upon her 
back, that she burst into tears and said she could not go another 
step. An Indian led her aside, cut off her head and scalped it; 
holding up the scalp and exclaiming, so I'll do loith you all, if 
you dare cry or complain. 

Hopehood, one of the most bloodv warriors of the a2;e, again ,., . . , 
appeared with a gang of desparadoes, prowling through the Pro- "' ^^''''^' 
vince. In July, they had a severe skirmish at Wells, with a par- a"'' •"Spruce 

. cictk. 

ty under Capt. Sherburne. Fired with uncommon revenge to- 
wards Newichawannock, they proceeded to reduce the remains of 
that ill-fated settlement to utter ruin ; shooting one man and burn- 
ing several buildings. At Spruce-creek [Eliot] they killed an old 
man and took a woman captive. Next, they pushed into New- 
Hampshire ; killing, burning and destroying in every place, where 
the people were unguarded. But these were the last feats of 
Hopehood. He was soon after killed by a party of Canada In- H„p„i,g„j 
dians, who mistook him for one of the Mohawks.f As a further '^'"'-'^• 
specimen of his character, it may not be improper to notice an 
instance of his cruelty. James Key, a boy of five years, one of 
the captives taken by him at Newichawannock, in JNlarch, being 
quite broken-hearted, had spells of crying to see his parents. To 
still the little sufferer, the savage stripped him naked, lashed 
both bis arms around a tree, and whipped him from head to foot, 
till he was covered with blood. Soon after, the child had a sore 
eye, which Hopehood said was caused by crying ; and seizing 
him, he turned it from[_tlie socket with his thumb, exclaiming, "if 
" I hear you cry again, I'll do so by 'tother." One day, because 



* 2 Mathers Magnalia, p. 517. + 2 Mather^ Majnalia, p. 524-5. 



624 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

AD. 1690. the child in travelHng was unable to keep up, the monster at once 
sprang and cut his head to pieces with his hatchet. 
, ,. After the conquest of Nova Scotia by Phips, was completed, 

riielntiiaii'i _ _' _ ^ i i ' 

ifid'yiiu! and the expedition planned against Canada was known at Que- 

Frejicl). 

bee, the Indians" were left chiefly to themselves, in the manage- 
ment of the war against the English frontiers ; for Count Fron- 
tenac was needing all his men and means at home. This was 
considered a favorable period for chastising the eastern tribes ; 
and while the fleet was gone to reduce Quebec, Major Benjamin 
Snpt 2. Church was again, September 2, taken into the public service. 
'ill ex'le'ch- * About 300 men were placed under his command, consisting of 
"""■ enlistments in Plymouth Colony, and troops from Massachusetts. 

This government furnished him with the necessary shipping and 
supplies ; and the General Court and Commissioners of the 
United Colonies gave him instructions. He was directed to visit 
Casco, Pejepscot, and any other places in the vicinity, where the 
French and Indians had their head-quarters, and, if possible, to 
kill them or drive them from the country ; also to ransom, rescue, 
or in some way recover the captives. 
He visits He first landed his men at Maquoit and led them across land, 

Biid Fejcp- before daylight, f towards Pejepscot-fort, on the western side of 
the Lower Falls in the river Androscoggin. He and his advanced 
guard first saw young Doney, a Sokokis, his wife and two cap- 
tives, about a mile from the fort, on the further side of a stream 
and marsh full of water, which they were obliged to ford, though 
it were to their armpits. Doney ran for the fort ; and Church, 
though retarded by wading through the water, closely pursued 
him. As the fleet-footed Indian entered the gate, he cried, -En^- 
lishmen ! Englishmen ! — when all within it, flew precipiiantly 
in different directions ; some leaped into the river and were 
drowned ; a few fled under the falls and were seen no more ; 
and several ran unwarily into the very arms of Church and his 
men, who by this time had arrived at the place, expecting a skir- 
mish. But there was no resistance. The English captives re- 
covered, were in a starving, wretched condition. The prison- 
ers taken, consisted of one Indian, — the wives of Kancamagus 
and Warumbee, — several other squaws, — and a great number of 



scol 



* Only about a tliirJ part remained, and these were Protestants. — 1 
Urit. Enip. \\ 17G. f 2 JIalh. Jilng. p. 522, be says ' by night.' 



Chap, xxiii.] of MAINE 625 

Indian children. The hfe of the native was spared, through a. D. 1690. 
the importunity of two female captives, who said;, he had been 
the means of their preservation, and tiiat of many others. He 
represented, that the Indians were abroad, engaged in drawing 
the Marechitcs of St. John's river into the war. The wives of 
the two Sagamores and their children were saved and sent on 
board his vessels, in consideration of a solemn promise made by 
the women, that eighty English prisoners should be restored. 
But it is painful to relate, and nowise creditable to the usual hu- 
manity of Major Church, that the rest of the females, except two 
or three old squaws, also the unoffending children, were put to 
the tomahawk or sword.— The old women, he left with some 
necessaries and this errand, — ' tell the Sagamores, they may find 
* their wives and children at Wells.'* 

Major Church, the next day, proceeded with his men, forty 
miles up the Androscoggin, to the Indian fort, where he recovered 
seven captives, killed twenty-one of the enemy, and took one 
prisoner. After plundering the fort, which contained some valua- 
ble property, he left it in flames. His prisoner was Agamcus, 
called from his size Great Tom, who was a sullen fellow, and on 
the march had the cunning to escape from his careless keepers. 
Flying to some of the Sagamores, he told them such frightful sto- 
ries about the tremendous Church and his forces, that the Indians 
fled into the woods, leaving Brackett, taken the previous year at 
Falmouth, who arrived at Maquoit, about the time Church was 
reembarking his troops. f 

Church proceeded to Winter-harbor, where, in a skirmish a skirmish 
which a party of his men had with old Doney and the enemy, a[ Qa"^'^'^ 
near Scammon's fort,J he killed two savages and recovered an 
English captive, who informed him, that the Indians were collect- 
ing at Pejepscot, to go against Wells. In his return to that place, 
he was only able to take some additional plunder. He next an- 
chored at Purpooduck, Sept. 21 , and landed three companies upon Scpti 21. 
the peninsula. Here he had a smart engagement with the Indians, 
in which he lost five of his Plymouth soldiers, killing 8 or 10 of 
the enemy, and taking 13 canoes. A returning captive told that 

* Church's Expedition, p. 107-117. | 2 JNIath. Mag-, p. 523-9. 

I Scammon's g^arrison was on the east side of the Saco, 3 miles below the 
falls. 

Vol. I 66 



(J26 THE HISTOKY [V'oL. 1. 

A. D. 1690. the Indians, in consequence of their loss, butchered, according to 
custom, as many of their prisoners. He collected and buried 
the mouldering bodies of the people skin in the capture of Fal- 
mouth, and returned home, leaving 100 of his men at Wells, 
under Capt. Converse'^' and Lieut. Plaisted. 
A view of Although Major Church acquired so much honor in king 
pediilon.'' Philip's war, he added to it few laurels in this expedition. 
The government of Massachusetts thought his exploits were wholly 
of a negative character, unworthy of applause. Some of tiie dis- 
affected eastern Provincials basely charged him with putting their 
cattle into barrels, and selling it in Boston for plunder. He him- 
self complained, that the grievous report about the ' Eastward 

* Expedition, rolled home upon him, like a snow ball, gathering 

* size at every turn, till he was quite overshadowed, and hidden 
' from all favorable view of his friends.' But he had lived long 
enough to know, that military merit is measured by successes j 
and though suspicion paints in the darkest colors, a conscious- 
ness of having performed well and v.'Isely all that could be done, 
was a better security to reputation, than inscri])tions on brass or 
marble. He magnanimously collected a considerable contribu- 
tion iu Plymouth Colony, which he transmitted to the eastern 
Provincials, accompanied by an address to Major Frost, John 
Wheelwright, Esq. and others, encouraging their expectations of 
still farther relief. 

His policy at Pejepscot had the anticipated eflect upon the 
Sagamores. For, in October, ten of them came to Wells, where 
they were extravagantly gratified, in the restoration of the cap- 
tive wives and children. Being in a mood to talk with open 
heart, they said, the French had made fools of them, and three 
times repeated these words — " JVe ivUl go to war against you 
no more ;^^ — " fVe are ready to meet your head-men, at any time 
, „n dnd place you appoint, and enter into a treaty.''^ 

Airure 5 On the 29th of November, at Sasadahock, a truce was si^rned 
wonllis. . . . . ' . . 

by commissioners from Massachusetts, — viz. Majors Hutchinson 

and Pike, two of the Assistants, and Capt. Townsend, Master of 

the Province sloop ; and by six Sagamores,f in behalf of all the 

* But Church says (ainversc went with him to Boston. — Expedition, p. 
123.— It was only a trip, p. 129. 

t These were Nctomboinet, (or Naitumbuit,) of Saco; V/arumbcc, of 
Androscogigin ; John Hawkins, alias Kankamapus, of Penacook ; Edg-ere- 



Chap, xxiii.] or Maine. 627 

Abenaques tribes, including the Penacooks. But it was, how- a.d. i690. 
ever, preceded by a conference of no less than six days, and was 
finally subscribed hy the Sagamores while they were in their 
canoes ; nor was it to continue beyond the first of the ensuing 
May. Still, they stipulated and agreed to do no injury in the 
mean time to the English, to deliver up all the prisoners present, 
and on tlie first day of May, surrender at Storer's garrison, in 
Wells, all the others, — and there make a lasting peace. They also 
promised to give the English timely notice, should the French plot 
any mischief against them. Ten English captives were then re- 
leased, with one of whom, Mrs. Hall, they parted very reluctantly, 
because she wrote well and served them as a secretary. 

This was almost the only good fortune of the autumn, which r^nr towns 
could counteract the fate of the Canada expedition and the great '^*^'-'^'"- 
discomfiture of the public. Never had jMaine witnessed a darker 
season. Only four towns remained, — viz. Wells, York, Kittery, 
and Appledorc or the Isles of Shoals ; and these, the enemy had 
evidently marked out for utter and speedy destruction. 

There were in Wells, between the present highway and the 
beach, several houses, constructed of hewn limber, with flankers, risen, 
and on each a walchtower — all of which were fortified, and might 
be occupied and used as garrisons. One of the largest and 
strongest was Mr. Storer's, situated near the old meeting-house, 
and about 100 rods from ihe present one, — considered at this 
period a public fortification. 

At the time appointed. May 1st, 1G91, President Danforth, j^ 
attended by several gentlemen, besides some of his Council, ^'ay '• 
and guarded by a troop of horse, visited Wells, in anticipation of 
meeting the Indians and forming a treaty. But not one ol them 
appeared ; — being evidently deterred, through French influence. 
A few of them, however, who were in the neighborhood, were 
brought in by order of Capt. Converse, and asked, why the Sag- 
amores were not present to enter upon a treaty, according to 
promise. — ' IVe no remember the time,^ — said they. — ' But still 
* we noiv give up two captives ; and we promise, certain, to bring 
' the rest in ten days.'' — To try their faith and honor, they were 

met, alias, Moxns, Toqualmot, and Watombamet, probably of Kenoebeck. 
— See 1 Hutch. Hist. p. 358, where some of the names are differently spelt- 
—2 Malhtr^$ Jlagnalia, p. 529, 543.— 1 Coll. JUaxs. Hist. Soc. p. 104-5, 3d 
vert«*. — Sullivan, p. 147. 



628 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D. 1692- then dismissed ; yet nothing more was seen of the Indians. — 
Hence, President Danforih and his associates, thus disappoint- 
ed, and despairing of a negotiation, soon returned to York ; prom- 
ising as he departed, to send a reenforcement to Converse, 
consisting of 35 soldiers, from the county of Essex. They ar- 
June 9. I'ived June 9th ; and in one half hour afterwards, the garrison 
was furiously heset by Moxus and two hundred Indians. Being 
repulsed, they presently withdrew and proceeded to Cape Ned- 
Capp Ned- fJock, in York. Here they attacked a vessel and killed the 
dick burnt, greater part of the crew, set the little hamlet on fire, and then 
scattered in different directions. Madockawando remarked, as 
related by a captive, ' Moxus miss it this time, — next year Til 
' have the dog Convei'se out his den.^ 
jy]^. Four companies, commanded by March, King, Sherburne, 

paXs'^i?ro- ^"d Walton, the first being the senior officer, were despatched, 
_c<!e<i lo Pc- J jg jj^ July, into the eastern service, who landed at Maquoit and 

J ftpscol. ' J ^ ' 1 

proceeded to Pejepscot-falls. Returning to their vessels, they 
had a sharp skirmish with a large body of Indians, in which 
Capt. Sherburne was killed. Nothing was effected by this ex- 
pedition — it only deterred the Indians from their premeditated at- 
tack upon the Isles of Shoals. Unassisted now by the French, 
they diverted themselves in roving through the country, during 
the autumn, — shooting individuals when alone,* — and robbmg 
or burning solitary houses. 
York assail- Their attempts upon the village of York, in the last and the 
***■ present war, had been remarkably delayed. Spread along the 

eastern side of Agamenticus river, near the margin of the salt 
water, it was in some degree sheltered from the enemy, by the 
frontier settlements. It had been, for many years, one of the 
provincial seats of government and justice, and since A. D. 
1673, had been favored with the able and pious ministry of Rev. 
Shubael Dummer. Several houses were strongly fortified, and 
the people kept a constant and vigilant watch, excepting in the 
heart of winter. Unfortunately this was the season, ascertained 
by the enemy, to be most fiworable for effecting its destruction 
Early in the morning of Monday, Feb. 5, 1692, at the signal 



* Dr. Mather, (2 Magnnlia, p. 530,) says, " on Sepl. 28tl), seven persons 
i< were murdered or captured at Berwick ;" — engaged, probably, in tak- 
ing some of the remains from that place. 



Chap, xxiii.] of Maine. 629 

of a 2;un fired, the town was furiously assaulted at different places, ad. 1692. 

° •' . ' Feb. 5. 

by a body of two or three hundred Indians, led on and enibold- 
ened by several Canadian Frenchmen ; — all of them having 
taken up their march thither upon snow-shoes. The surprise of 
the town was altogether unexpected and amazing, and conse- 
quently the more fatal. A scene of most horrid carnage and 
capture instantly ensued; and in one half hour, more than an 
hundred and sixty of tlie inhabitants were expiring victims or 
trembling suppliants, at the feet of their enraged enemies. The 
rest had the good fortune to escape with their lives into Preble's, 
Harrnan's, Alcock's and Norton's garrisoned houses, the best for- 
tifications in town. Though well secured within the walls, and 
bravely defending themselves against their assailants, they were 
several times summoned to surrender : — JVever, said they, never, 
till we have shed the last drop of blood. About 75 of the people 
were killed ; yet despairing oi' conquest or capiiulaiion, the vin- 
dictive destroyers set fire to nearly all the unfortified houses on 
the north-east side of the river, which with a large amount of prop- 
erty left, besides the plunder taken, were laid in ashes. — Appre- 
hensive of being overtaken by avenging pursuers, they hasten- 
ed their retreat into the woods ; taking with them as much 
booty as they could carry away, and, as Doct. jMalher says,* 
" near an hundred of that unhappy people," prisoners. Nay, it 
was now their hard destiny, to enter upon a long journey, f amidst 
a thousand hardships and sufferings, aggravated by severe weather, 
snow, famine, abuse, and every species of wretchedness. 

About one half of the inhabitants, it has been supposed, were 
either slain or carried away captive. jMr. Dummer was found R<»v. Mr. 
by some of his surviving neighbors, fallen dead upon his face, near kiiU'd. 
his own door ; being shot, as he was about starling on horseback 
to make a pastoral visit. He was a well educated divine, now in 
his 60th year ; greatly beloved by his charge ; and so eminent a 
man of God, that Doct. IMather supposes, an appropriate emblem 
in his coat of arms would have been, a lamb in a flaming bush."^ 



* 2 Mai^nal p. 530-1. f ^^ '^ supposed (hey ■were carried to Sajadahock. 

\ His liouse u'as by Ihc seashore, not far from (he " Roaring- Rock." 
He was a graduate of Harvard College, A. D. lG5f), and married (he same 
vear. He was, one says, "not only well descended, well tempered and 
well educated," — but settled among a people strong-Iy attached to him ; 
whose faithful ministry had been greatly blessed among- them. By reason 



630 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. U. 1G92. His wife, the daughter of Edward Rishworth, Esq. was among 
the captives, who heing heart-broken, and exhausted with fatigue, 
soon sunk in death. But truth and fidelity require the writer to 
mention in this place, an instance of Indian gratefulness, among 
several of a kindred character, occurring at other times in our 
wars with the natives. To recompense the English for sparing 
the lives of 4 or 5 Indian females, and a brood of their children at 
Pejepscot, they dismissed some elderly women, and several chil- 
dren between the ages of three and seven years, and returned 
them safely to one of the garrison-houses ;* — a circumstance 
which also confirms the opinion, that the Penacooks and the 
Anasagunticooks were concerned in this attack. A party in- 
stantly rallied at Portsmouth, as soon as the news reached the 
place, and w^ent in pursuit of the enemy ; too late, however, to 
effect a rescue of the prisoners, or to give the savages battle. 
In derision of the puritan ministers, towards whom the Indians, 
full of Romish prejudices, entertained the greatest antipathy ; 
one of them, on a Suuday of their march through the wilderness, 
dressed himself in the ministerial attire of Mr. Dummer, and in 
mock dignity, stalked among the prisoners, several of whom were 
members of his church ; — ' a demon,' according to Mr. Mather's 
view of him, ' transformed into an angel of light.' 
The mcictii- ^^^^- niassacre in York and burning of the town, were the more 
riaioli <)"■'" ^seply and extensively lamented, because of the antiquity and pre- 
^"'■'^ eminence of the place, and especially the excellent character of 

the people. " Many," says an eminent cotemporary writer, 
" were the tears, that were dropped throughout New-England on 
" this occasion." It had experienced so fatal a blow, that the 
remaining inhabitants entertained, afterwards, serious thoughts of 
abandoning it altogether, while the war continued. But Massa- 
chusetts, in her generosity, administered to the people, by the 
hands of Captains Converse and Greenleaf, immediate relief, 



of their distresses, be '* spent much of his patrimony" in bis own support. 
When settled, lie preached the ordination discourse from Psal. 89 c. 14 v. 
He was succeeded, A. D. 1700, by Rev. Samuel Moody — who continued in 
the ministry 48 years ; and whose fame equalled that of any g'entleraan of 
the clergy in that age. — //on, D. Seu^all. — 3 Coll. JJass. Hist. Soc. p, 10- 
— Greenleaf s Ecc. HisL p. 9. 

* One of them was the famous Col. Jeremiah MouUon, who died, A. D, 
J765,— 1 Coll. Maine Hist. Soc. p. 104.— Sec ante, A. D. 1690. 



Chap, xxiii.] of MAINE. 63 1 

with such full encoura2;ements of protection, as determined them A. D. ir92, 
to abide and risque future events. Major Elislia Hutchinson 
was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the provincial militia, 
and of tlie three companies in the eastern service, under Captains 
Converse, Floyd, and Thaxter ; by whose united and prudent 
conduct, the frontiers were so well guarded, and the posts so read- 
ily corresponded with each other, through the medium of ranging 
parties, that it became impossible for the enemy to attack, in the 
usual way by surprise. Several of the captives taken at York, 
ivere recovered in the course of the spring, by a vessel sent for 
the purpose to Sagadahock. 

Wells was next the object of attack by the Indians. The in- Weiis de- 
habitants were dispersed among the fortified houses, — in neces- pollv^r''/ 
sitous circumstances ; while Capt. Converse and fifteen soldiers*'"'''"""*"' 
were all the fensible men then in Storer's garrison. To supply 
them and the people with ammunition and provisions, two sloops, 
commanded by Samuel Storcr and James Gouge, attended by a 
shallop, well laden, arrived in the harbor, Friday, June 9di, liav- . ,, 
ing on board 14 men. About the same hour, the cattle, much 
affiighted, ran bleeding into the settlement, from the woods ; for- 
tunately giving the alarm of an approaching enemy. Captain 
Converse instantly issued commands to the vessels, and to the 
people in all quarters, to be on their guard ; and the whole night 
was passed in anxious and trembling watchfulness. 

Next morning, before break of day, John Diamond, a passen- j^^^^^ ,q 
ger in the shallop, on his way to the garrison, distant from the ^nA''.!^'''^'. 'l^ 
sloop a gunshot, was seized by Indian spies and dragged away a"t""^'a"s. 
by his hair. An army of about 500 French and Indians pres- 
ently appeared, under BurnefFe, their superior officer, who was 
chief in command at the capture of Falmouth — Labrocree, an- 
other French General, of some military reputation — and a lew 
other Frenchmen of rank ; attended by Madockawando, Egere- 
rnet,* Moxus, VVarumbee, and several other Sagamores. They 
closely examined Diamond, who told them what he knew ; only, 
by mistake, or design, he said there were in the garrison with 
Capt. Converse, thirty brave men, well armed. Flushed with 
the certainty of conquest, they apportioned the soldiers, the in- 
habitants, ]Mr. Wheelwright byname, the women and the children 



* Ejercmet was from Machias or Passamaquoddy. 



632 THE HisiuKY [Vol. i. 

A.U. 1G92. of the town, the sailors, and the phinder, among the officers, the 
Sagamores, and their host; when one hahited hke a gentleman, 
made a speech in English to them, in which he exhorted them 
to be active and fearless ; assuring them, if they courageously at- 
tacked the English fortresses, all would be theirs — the heretics 
must surrender. 

June 10. Instantly raising a hideous shout, they assailed the garrison 

with great fury, and continued the assault during the day. A 
party constructed, in the meantime, a breastwork of plank, hay, 
posts and rails, over which they fired upon the vessels, secured 
only by a high bank, too far distant for men to spring on board. 
Being only a dozen rods fi'om the sloops, they were able to set 
them on fire several times with fire-arrows ; the crews extinguish- 
ing the flames, by wet mops upon the ends of poles, and firing also 
with an aim and briskness, which at length compelled them to with- 
draw. One of the Indians, more daring than his fellows, then 
approached with a plank for a shield, whom a marksman by a single 
shot brought to the ground. Next, a kind of cart, rigged and 
trimmed, with a platform and breastwork shot-proof, was rolled 
forward from the woods, till within fifteen yards of the sloops; 
when one of the wheels sinking into the oozy earth, a Frenchman 
stepped to heave it forward with his shoulder, and was shot dead, 
and another taking his place, shared the same fiue. The firing 
was continued upon the sloops with the repeated demand, sur- 
render ! surrender ! — which was only letorted by loud laughter. 
At night they called out, ivho^s your commander? — "We have, 
(said they,) a great many commanders." You lie, — cried an 
Indian, — You have none but Converse, and we'll have him before 
morning. 

, ,, A scout of six men, sent by Capt. Converse, towards Newich- 

June ll( , 

awannock, a few hours before the enemy first appeared, return- 
ing about the dawn of day, being Sabbath-morning ; were un- 
warily exposed, on their arrival, to certain death. But with 
great presence of mind, the corporal loudly bespoke Captain 
Converse, as if near him, wheel your men around the hill and 
these few dogs are ours. The enemy supposing Converse 
was at their heels, hastily fled, and the scout entered the gates 
unhurt. 

The French and Indians, now embodied themselves, and be- 
gan to move with great regularity towards the garrison ; when 



Chap, xxiii.] of MAINE. 633 

one of the Captain's soldiers sighed a surrender: — 'utter the a. d. ig92. 
word again, said he, and you are a dead man :' — " all He close — '^'"'"l'?J^. 
"fire not a gun, lill it will do execution." As the besiegers wiihfiy'f'S""- 
a firm step approached, they gave three hideous shouts — one 
crying out in English, ^re and fall on, brave boys; — and the whole 
body opening into three ranks, discharged their guns all at 
once. A blaze of fire was returned, both from the small arms 
and the cannon, some two or three of which were 12 pound- 
ers ; the women in the garrison handing ammunition, and several 
times touching off the pieces at the enemy. It was a crisis of 
life or death, and the repulse was so complete, that the attack 
was not renewed. 

One farther attempt, however, was made upon the vessels, which 
were still lying lashed together in the best ]5osture possible for 
defence. The enemy now constructed a fire-float, 18 or 20 feet 
square, and filling it with combustibles, and setting them on fire, 
towed it as far as was safe, directly towards the sloops, in the 
current of the tide, and left it to fleet in flames against them. 
To avoid or to extinguish this burning magazine, appeared im- 
possible, and their fate inevitable. But by the interposition of 
Divine Providence, as the anxious mariners viewed it, a fresh 
counter breeze was breathed upon them, which drove it aground 
on the opposite shore, where it split and filled with water. 

Completely worsted in every effort made, and unable by rea- Repulse 
son of the levelness of the ground to undermine the garrison, theofihe"^ 
enemy despaired of forcing or inducing a capitulation; having *'"*'"^^" 
killed none in the fort, and no more than a single one of the 
mariners. Some of the enemy, however, after this proceeded 
over the river and made havock among the cattle ; while the 
leaders sent a flag of truce, and began a parley ; offering Captain 
Converse the most seducing terms, if he would surrender. 'No,' 
said he, ' I loant nothing oj you.'' A short dialogue ensued,* after 



* The dialog-lie was of this purport. — Converse told them, ' I want nolli- 
ing- l)ut men to figlit.' Then if you, Converse, are so stout, tchy dorit you 
come out, and fight in thefidd like a man, and not stay in a garrison, like a 
squaw? — ' What fools are you! Think joii, (said he,) my thirty are a 
' match for your five hundred.'' Come upon the plain with only thirty, and 
♦ I am ready for you.' — J^o, no, ire think English fashion, (cried a grim In- 
dian), a// one/oo/ .• you kill me — me kill you ,- — JVbi so, — better lie som«- 
VoL. I. 67 



634 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1692. which the Indian bearing the flag, threw it upon the ground, and 
fled. A few scattering guns were at intervals discharged till dusk, 
and about ten in the evening, the enemy all withdrew. 

Incidents of The good management and great bravery of Capt. Converse 
" ' and his men, and of the shipmasters and their crews, were not 
exceeded during the war. A siege of forty-eight hours, prosecuted 
by a host against a handful, was in the sequel no less a disgrace 
and discouragement to the one, than animating and glorious to 
the other. Several of the enemy fell — one was Labrocree, who 
had about his neck when found, a satchel inclosing Romish re- 
liques, and a printed manual of indulgences. To avenge his 
death, the savages put their only captive, John Diamond, to the 
torture. They stripped, scalped and maimed him ; slit his hands 
and feet between the fingers and toes ; cut deep gashes in the 
fleshy parts of his body, and then stuck the wounds full of lighted 
torches ; leaving him to die by piecemeal in the agonies of con- 
suming fire.* 

Gov. Phips' It was this spring, in which the new administration commenced 

fion!'"'^"^^' under the charter of William and Mary ; Sir William Phips, 
being commissioned the royal Governor. To the first legislature, 

June 8. which convened June 8, eight representatives were returned 
from the late Province of Maine. Sir William, in his speech 
to the two branches, stated that monies necessary to defend their 
Majesties' eastern subjects must be raised ; and that the war 
against the French and Indians ought to be prosecuted with more 

A ho rd f system, and with renewed vigor. A board of war was established, 

*^''- consisting of three military men, for whom a stipend or salary 

was provided of £100 by the year. The Governor was author- 
ized by the charter, and advised by the legislature, to march 
tlie militia, if it were necessary, against the common enemy. f 

The eastern coast at this time was infested with piratical sea- 
rovers and freebooters, who were committing depredations with 
fearful boldness. Nor was this the only trouble. The French, 
it is well known, were eager to attain a repossession of the ex- 
tensive territory between Sagadahcck and Nova Scotia, now em- 



wheres and shoot e'm Englislunan, when he no see, that^s Ike best soldier. — 
Another exclaimed. D — n you, we'll cut you small as tobacco, before morn- 
ing. ' Haste tlien,' retorted Converse, ' I want business.' 

*2 Math. Ma^. p. 532-6.-2 riutch. Hist. p. 67. 
i b Mass. Rec. p. 232.— Prov. Laws, p. 734. 



Chap, xxiii.] of Maine (335 

braced in the new charter and overrun by the triumphant sav- a. d. 1692. 
ages. 

To fight the enemy, and keep possession of tlie eastern coun- ?,*",'""''.V* 
try, the Governor detached several companies from the mihtia, lioi.. 
issued orders for some enlistments, and commissioned Benjamin 
Church, July 5, Major-commandant of the forces; who himself Ju'y 5- 
enlisted a company of volunteers and a party of friendly or pray- 
ing Indians. There was another enterprize, which the Gover- 
nor had in view, and for accomplishing which, he had the king's 
special instructions ; this was the erection and establishment of a 
strong public fortress at Pemaquid. 

The Governor in person, attended by Major Church and 450 p"»^.\V., 
men, embarked earlv in August, at Boston, for that place : touch- ''«■" Hen- 
ing at Falmonth and taking off the great guns.* In examining I'emaquid. 
the ground, he determined upon a site near the old stockade- 
fort, built by order of Edmund Aiuhos, and destroyed three 
years before, by the Indians. The plat selected was twenty rods 
from highwater mark,f on the east side of the river, a league 
above Pemaquid point. The form adopted was quadrangular,{ 
in compass 747 feet, measuring around the exterior contemplated 
wall; the inner square, including the citadel, being 108 feet 
across. 

The building of the garrison was committed to the superin- 
tendance and direction of Captains Wing and Bancroft, and was 
finished under Captain March ; two companies being retained to 
do the work. Major Church was despatched, August 11, with 
the rest of the troops, on a cruise to Penobscot and other places 
in quest of the enemy ; and the Governor himself returned to 
Boston. 

The walls were constructed of stone,§ cemented in lime-mor- 
tar. Their height on the south side fronting the sea, was 22 
feet, on the west 18, on the north 10 and on the east 12 feet; 
and the great flanker, or round tower, at the south-western cor- 
ner, was in height 29 feet.[| Eight feet from the ground, where 
the walls were 6 feet in thickness, tliere was a tier of 28 port- 

* Church's 3d Expedition, p. 133. 

t Hero the tide rises from 14 to 16 feeL 

I Brit. Dom. in Amer. says, p. 166 " triangular." 

} It is said to have taken 2,000 cart-loads of stone. 

i 2 Neal's N. E. p. 489.-3 Math. Mag. p. 636-T. 



636 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1. 

A. D. 1C92. holes. The garrison was finished in a few months; — the whole 
cost of which is said to have been £20,000, Between 14 and 
18 guns were mounted, six of which were 18 pounders; it was 
manned with 60 men, and called Fort William Henry. 

The charge of building this fortification and keeping it garri- 
soned, caused much dissatisfaction, and even complaints among 
the people. It was thought by many, not to be a convenient post 
for ranging parties, nor a well chosen asylum for the retreat of 
frontier settlers, in times of rupture. Remotely situated, it was 
liable to be captured, and might in war, become a strong hold of 
the enemy. If the establishment answered no other purpose than 
to protect a single harbor, and keep nominal possession of the 
country, the expenses were altogether disproportionate. But, as it 
was entirely designed for the public good, many, on the other hand, 
thought the objections arose from a reprehensible parsimony and 
shortsighted policy. 
ExoHrsions The expedition was immediately known by the Indians ; for 
Chiirtii at Major Church, on landing with a party of his men on one of the 
and "Kemie- Islands in Penobscot bay, now called "seven hundred acre Isl- 
^^ ' and," was informed by two or three French residents, who were 

living widi Indian wives and had families ; that a " great company" 
of Indians, were on a neighboring Island [evidently Long Isl- 
and] and, having descried the vessels, had hastened away in 
their canoes. Unable, without whale-boats, to pursue them be^ 
yond the vicinity of the peninsula; he took five Indians, also a 
quantity of corn, beaver and moose-skins, and returned to Pema- 
quid. Afterwards, in ascending the Kennebeck waters, he had a 
skirmish with a party of Indians, some of whom he drove to the 
woods, while others fled away in their canoes, up the river to 
their fort at Teconnet, As soon as they discovered him and his 
men in pursuit, tliey set fire to their huts in the fort, and ran 
away, burying themselves in the thickets. Whatever was not 
already on fire, particularly some cribs of corn, he committed to 
the flames ; and returning to Boston, concluded his third ' East- 
ern Expedition ;'* rendered memorable by no exploit of any 
great moment. 

The Sagamores were highly exasperated by these enterprizes ; 
and at the same time, greatly dissatisfied with the meagre aid 



* Church's 3d Expedition, p. 131-137, 



son 
sto 



Chap, xxin.] of maine. 637 

and recompense, they were receiving from the French. Madock- a. d. ics2i 
awando, in August, made a journey to Quebec. In an interview p,.pn(,h and 
with Count Frontenac, he presented him with five English pris- l",\\[^"*^ 
oners, and received in return the reward expected. It was also "p." st 
agreed between them, that the Governor should send two ships of 
war and 200 Canadians to Penobscot, and there be reenforced 
by 2 or 300 Indians under Madockawando ; and that the whole 
force, when conjoined, should proceed to destroy Wells, the Isles 
of Shoals, the plantations of Piscalaqua, including Kittery, 
likewise the town of York, and then demolish Fort William 
Henry. 

This enterprize was a topic of too much conversation to be ^^]^, 
kept a secret. John Nelson,* appointed after the conquest of J'I'JI'J* 
Nova Scotia by Phips, the Governor or commander of the Pro- ''°'*^"" 
vince, but being taken prisoner on, or after his passage thither, 
from Boston, was now detained in Quebec, Having oppor- 
tunity to talk with IMadockawando, he amused him with the pro- 
ject of settling a trading house at " Negas," [possibly Kendus- 
keag] ' up the Penobscot,' and drew from him some information. 
To communicate intelligence. Nelson bribed two Frenchmen and 
sent a letter by them to Boston, in which he informed the govern- 
ment that a French frigate of 34 guns, I'Envieux, and a Dutcii cap- 
tured ship of 38 guns, le Poli, were about to be sent, under Iberville, 
to Port-Royal and Penobscot, for the purpose of sweeping the 
eastern waters of all the vessels they could find ; and that he ex- 
pected, in his undertaking and movements, to have the coopera- 
tion and assistance of the Chevalier Villebon, the French Gov- 
ernor of Nova Scotia. The two French messengers, on their 
return, being detected, were for their perfidy afterwards shot; 
and the patriotic Nelson, for sending the letter, was transported 
to France and imprisoned in the Bastile five years. At the close 
of the war, and not before, he returned home, after ten years' 
absence. 

* He was the son of William Nelson, and devisee of Sir Thomas Temple, 
former proprietor of Nova Scotia. — 1 Coll. J\Iass. Hisl. Soc. p. 136, 5d series. 
John Nelson was one of the high republicans, who required Edmund An- 
dros to surrender his administration. His letter to the Court of Massa- 
chusetts, was dated August 26th, 1692. He was made an eyewitness to the 
execution of his two French messengers, and expected the same fate. 
After he was transported, he was released from the Bastile, through the 
influence of Sir Purbec Temple, {Ens.)—Eliot''s Biog. p. 332. 



638 "nj*^ HISTORY [Vol. i. 

A.D. 1692. Late in the autumn, Iberville, arriving at Penobscot, was join- 
Fnrt Wii- ed by Villebon and a great body of Indians ; and all pro- 
ry. ceeded to attempt the reduction of Fort William Henry. Struck 

with its apparent strength, and finding an English vessel riding at 
anchor under the guns of the fort, the commanders concluded to 
abandon the enterprize ; the Indians stamping the ground in dis- 
appointment. 
A.D. 1G93. Ti'6 next spring, the intrepid Converse was commissioned 
virsrhundJ ^3Jor ^"d Commander-in-Chief of the eastern forces, including 
Sacotort. ^}^g gan-ison soldiers and 350 new levies. He ranged the country 
in quest of the enemy ; was at Piscataqua, at Wells, at Sheepscot, 
at Pemaquid, at Teconnet, and on the west side of the Saco, 
near the falls, he, with the aid of Major Hook and Capt. Hill, 
erected a very strong stone-fort.* The Indians were in distress 
and despair. They felt themselves hunted to the mountains by 
the terrifying Converse ; they feared an attack from the Mo- 
hawks : the French had left them to feed on empty promises ; 
several of their principal men were detained among the English, 
as prisoners, who were extremely impatient to be released ; and 
August 11. on the 11th of August, thirteen Sagamoresf representing all the 
tribes from Passamaquoddy to Saco, inclusive, came into the new 
garrison, at Pemaquid, and negotiated a treaty with the English 
commissioners John Wing, Nicholas Manning, and Benjamin 
Jackson. 
Thetnrms ln this the Sagamores conceded more than in former treaties. 
Tiiey declared their hearty subjection and obedience to the crown 
of England ; and said they had been instigated by the French 
to make war, whose interest they had determined to abandon 
forever. They agreed to release all captives without ransom ; 
to resign unto the English inhabitants all their possessions and im- 
provements, and leave them unmolested and free of all Indian 
claims ; to traffic with the English at the trading houses, which 

* The remains arc still visible. It was a fortress of great streng-th ; in 
wliich several soldiers were stationed, under Capt. Georg;e Turfrcy and 
Lieut, P. Fletcher. 

f Among those who signed the treat}' were Egeremct of Machias ; Ma- 
dockawando and Abenqnid of Penobscot ; Wassambomet and Ketterramo- 
gis of Norridgewock ; Bomaseen, Wcnobson " of Teconnet, in behalf of 
Moxus;" Nitamemct or Nitombomct, and Robin Doney of Saco; and 
other a. 



Chap, xxiii.] of Maine, 639 

should be established by government and regulated by law ; and a. d. ic95» 
have every controversy between the English and Indians decided 
in due course of justice. It was a treaty of perpetual peace and 
friendship, sanctioned by the most solemn asseverations of the 
parties, in faith of which the Sagamores delivered to the English 
five hostages,* who were to be exchanged at any lime, on re- 
quest, for others of equal rank.f 

A respite from war and returns from captivity without ransom 
must be themes and causes of uncommon joy, to a people war- 
worn, bleeding, scattered and sinking in ruins. This peace, had 
the Indians been left to themselves, might have been permanent 
and lasting. For constant as tiiey were in nothing but change, 
they were soon tired with uniformity and perseverance, especially, 
if attended with anxious toils or dangers. Prisoners had not 
been taken by them of late without great dlfliculty, and plunder 
could not be easily obtained. 

Count Frontcnac, now engaged in a most bloody, though un- rhp French 
successful war with the Mohawks, or ' Five Nations,' was under p^'^ce'.' '*'* 
the necessity of calling home to his assistance every Frenchman 
able to bear arms. He was troubled on every side, and must 
even have stood the siege of Quebec, this season, had not the 
mortal sickness on board the royal English fleet, under Sir 
Francis Wheeler, prevented an attack. To sufler the Abena- 
ques and Tarratine tribes to be at peace with their neighbors, 
would in effect, as the Count perceived, greatly serve to embold- 
en the English in their projects against Quebec ; and therefore 
he employed his emissaries to dissuade the Indians from restoring 
their prisoners or i'uUilling the treaty. Hostages, he told them, 
were no great security or pledge, so long as the Indians had in 
their custody a greater number of captives. 

Fit instruments to effect his purpose were the French mis- Jesuit mis- 
sionaries. The four or five who were preeminent in his service, a'.non^itVhe 
were M. Thury, Vincent and Jaques Bigot and Sebastiaii Ral- ''•'*"'"*• 
le;\ — all of whom were ardent and bold enthusiasts, always 
ready, with tearful eye, to preach from a text in their creed, — that 
" it is no sin to break faith with heretics." Thury and Vincent 



* One was Sheepscot John ; another was the cousin of Madockawando; 
and a third the brother of Eg-creinct. 
f See this treaty entire. — 2 J\Ialh. JIag. p. 5 12-3. 
X There was one at Androscog^g-in. — 2 ^^lath. Jfag: p. 657. 



640 THE HISTORY [VoL. 1, 

A.D. 1C93 Bigot bad been a long time among the Tarratines, and were well 
acquainted with their dispositions, language and habits. Ralle,* 
sent from France into the French colonies by the society of Jes- 
uits, passed about four years among the tribes in the vicinity of 
Canada ; and in 1693 chose Norridgewock for his abode, where 
he dwelt 26 years. His entire devotion to the religious interests 
of the Indians, gave him an unlimited ascendancy over them. 
Viiiieii at Another select agent of Frontenac, was Sieur de VilUeu, who 
was now appointed resident commander at Penobscot. He was 
an officer who had acquired some merit at Quebec, when it was 
attacked by Phips ; and, what was an additional qualification for 
his post, he cherished an inveterate hatred of the puritans. 
Indians de- Determined to open anew the sluices of war, he collected a 
sro} "^'^'■- i)Q,jy of 250 Indians, under Madockawando, Bomaseen, and 
Toxus, who, on the 18th of July, again destroyed Dover, in 
New-Hampshire ; and, after plundering places further westward, 
August 20. returned to Piscataqua, August 20th, when a large party of 
tacks. them crossed over into Kittery, with intent, manifestly, to complete 
the ruin of Maine. At Spruce-creek they killed three, and at 
August 24. York one, where they also took a lad prisoner. On the fifth day 
of their visit, they made a bold attack upon Kittery, slew eight 
persons, and scalped in a barbarous manner a little girl ; who, 
though left bleeding and apparently dying, was found alive the 
next morniug, and ultimately recovered, notwithstanding her skull 
was badly fractured. 
Srvcnin- This suddcu outragcous violation of the treaty and every prin- 
^uinbseiz- pjpjg q£ plighted faith, rendered any retaliatory act warrantable, 
in the opinion of an abused people, however severe such act might 
be. When, therefore, Robin Doney and three of his companions 
sauntered into the new fort at Saco, pretending great regret for 
the late ruj)ture, they being known criminals, were detained in 
custody. In the same manner, Bomaseen and two other Indians, 

November 19th. visited the garrison at Pemaquid, then under the 
Wov 19 ' . 

command of Capt. March, feigning themselves to be travellers 

immediately from Canada, and strangers to the recent massacre. 

But they, being known, were seized, and Bomaseen was soon sent 

to Boston. These acts were not censured by government, though 

serious minds have animadverted upon them with some severity. 



♦ 8 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. p. 250-2, 2d. series 



Chap, xxiii.] of mainc. 641 

To show what arts and deceptions were practised by the a. d. ic'J4, 
French fanatics, upon the ignorance and superstition of the Jesuit 
natives ; a few facts may be allowed here to be stated. In con- 
versing with a clergyman of Boston, Bomascen said, the Indians 
understand the Virgin Mdry.was a French lady, and her son, 
Jesus Christ, the blessed, was murdered by the English ; but has 
since risen and gone to heaven, and all ivho would gain his favor 
must avenge his blood. — The divine, taking a tankard, said to 
him, Jesus Christ gives us good religion, like the good ivine 
in this cup ; God^s book is the Bible, which holds this good 
drink ; the French put poison in it, and then give it to the In^ 
dians ; — Englishmen give it to them pure; — that is, ive present 
the holy Book to you, in your own language. French priests 
hear you confess sins, and take beaver for it. Englishmen never 
sell pardons ; they are free and come from God only. — Then, 
said Bomaseen, Indians xvill spit up all French poison; — En- 
glishmen's God the best God. 

Bomaseen and his accomplices were continued in confinement, A.D. 1695. 
and the hostages remained with the English, through the winter, ihe Indians. 
Being persons of distinction, their liberation would have com- 
manded almost any ransom, had the Indians any thing to pay. 
But such were their uncommon miseries, that humanity weeps 
over them. Besides famine, in which their English prisoners 
were the most wretched sharers, — a mortal sickness was raging 
among them. Pushed forward by hunger and revenge, some of 
them were able occasionally to take life, or a little plunder. In 
March, one of the soldiers was killed and another taken near March. 
Saco fort ; — other acts of mischief were also committed, — acts 
which were the height of folly : For, if they would turn a deaf 
ear to the deceptive French, and consult their own interest, it 
must be the wisest measure practicable, for them to cease depre- 
dations and to restore their captives according to the treaty, as 
the return of them was filling relations and even the community 
itself with extreme anxiety ; — and then they might hope for relief. 

To mediate an exchange, Sheepscot John, one of tlic host- a mice. 
ages, was sent to the eastern tribes ; through whose influence a 
body of Indians in a flotilla of fifty canoes, May 20, met some ^gy so. 
of our men, belonging to Fort William Henry, at Rutherford's 
Island, situated a league from the garrison. Here the Saga- 
Vol. I. 68 



542 T"E HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A. D, 1603. mores confessed their wrongs, released eight captives, and en- 
tered into a truce for thirty days ; promising to meet commis- 
sioners in the garrison at the end of a month, and ratify the 
treaty. 

June 19. A conference was subsequently had according to appointment ; 

pa'"ey- j^^^ ^j^g Commissioners, Col. Phillips, Lieut. Col. Hawthorn and 
Major Converse, refused to treat, till the English prisoners were 
produced. This pre-requisite was thought by the Sagamores 
unfair; for, said they, you have not brought Bomaseen, Robin 
Doney, and our friends : — WeHl talk no more; and rising ab- 
ruptly, departed. The parley was thus fraught with danger ; for 
after this, the forts and frontiers were infested by prowling savages 
through the summer. Major Hammond, who belonged to Kit- 
tery was seized, July 6, near Saco-fort, and carried to Canada ; 
and within three months, about 40 were killed or taken captive, 

gpjj p in the northern parts of New-England. Among them, a soldier 

Soldiers ^ygg sliot at Saco, and four were killed and six wounded, at 

killed at ' 

Peinaquid. Pemaquid, Sept. 9, as they were rowing a gondola around a 

high rocky point, above the barbacan opposite to the garrison. 
A D 1696 Five months after this, Egeremet, Toxus, Abenquid, and a 
^f*^; ?^;-n party of their associates, came into the same earrison, Feb. 16. 

Chubb kills ^ •' " _ . 

and seizes [1696], for the purposc, as they said, of effecting an exchange 
Pemaquid of prisoners. The commander at this time was Capt. Chubb, 
' whose men vi^ere not yet fully healed of the wounds, they had late- 
ly received. Their resentments were also inflamed by the recol- 
lection of those, who were actually slain at the same time ; and 
in the midst of the parley, they suddenly fell upon the Indians, 
killed Egeremet, Abenquid, and two others, and took some of 
them prisoners ;* Toxus and a few of his more athletic comrades 
effecting their escape, to tell the awful story, and add new fuel 
to the flames of war. It was a shameful breach of good faith — 
nowise justifiable by the perfidy of the Indians, though they 
had previously violated the treaty they had signed. To kill 
emissaries in the midst of negotiations, for their fellows' crimes, 
is an act unknown even to the worst of savages ; for they never 
murder during a parley. If the conduct of Captain March, 15 
months before, was blameworthy 5 Chubb richly deserved all the 



» C/mj/evoii; [ 3 vnl. K. F. p. 233.] says, three were sent to Boston — He 
complains of this act. 



Chap, xxm.] of Maine. 643 

censure, a sensitive public was disposed so liberally to reflect A. u. 1C96. 

upon him. 

There was nothins; to cheer this sprinsr, except the late return Jye. 

^ r o' r Captives 

of ]Major Hammond and about thirty captives from Canada. In returned— 

1 • 1 1 • 1 I T-» people slain. 

June, upwards ot twenty people were slam or taken about Ports- 
mouth — several houses were burned — also three men and their 
wives who were sisters, in passing from York to Wells were as- 
sailed ; — Thomas Cole and his wife, two of the six, being shot 
down, the others barely escaping a second discharge. 

Fort William Henry had now become a noted public garrison. The French 

. . I o t'esipii '.inon 

The French conceived it controlled all the western parts of Ac- Fort vvil 
adia, and resolved to reduce it. For this purpose, Iberville was 
despatched from Quebec, with two men of war and two com- 
panies of soldiers, — directed to form a junction with Villebon 
and a company of 50 Mickmaks, at St. John or Port Royal, also 
with Castine and his Indians at Penobscot, and drive the English 
from the garrison. It was as unfortunate as it was accidental, 
that about the same time, two British ships, the Sorlings, Captain 
Eames, and the Newport, Captain Paxen, also the Province ten- 
der, sailed from Boston for the bay of Fundy, to intercept the 
stores supposed to be on their passage from Quebec to Villebon. 
For, as the two squadrons met and encountered each other in the 
bay, the Newport, in the engagement, lost her topmast and sur- 
rendered and the other two were, under the cover of a fog, 
only able to effect their escape. 

Reenforced by this prize, which Iberville repaired at St. John, 
he and Villebon, with his Mickmaks, proceeded to Pemaquid ; 
taking on board at Penobscot, Baron de Castine, who was fol- 
lowed by 200 Indians* in canoes. The whole force invested 
the garrison, July 14th, when Iberville sent Capt. Chubb a sum- July 14. 
mons to surrender. But as he had 15 guns well mounted, 95 
men double armed, and abundance of anmiunition and provisions, 
and was able to stand a long siege against treble his number of 
soldiers ; — he promptly replied, 1 shall not give up the fort, 
though the sea be covered with French vessels, and the land with 

* Charlevoix, (3 vol. JV. F. p. 260-2,) says Castine was with 200 savages . 
and Iberville distributed presents to them. In the assault the French lost 
two men, killed by pistols ; and two ollicrs, whose lives cost the English 
'» tens of two." 



644 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.D. iGdG. wild Indians. Hence a few discharges of musquetry and cannon 
closed the first day. 

July 15. Before the next morning, the French landed their cannon and 

renders the mortars ; and by three in the afternoon, had so far raised their 

garrison, batteries, as to be able to throw five or six bombs into the fort. 
Amidst the consternation these occasioned, Castine found means 
to convey a letter to Capt. Chubb, teUing him ' if he delayed a 
• surrender till an assault was made, he would have to deal with 
' Savages, and must expect no quarter, for Iberville, according 
' to the king's order, was to give none.' This menacing address 
effected all that was desired ; the chamade was beat, and the 
terms of capitulation stipulated, by which all within the garrison 
were to be conveyed to Boston, and as many French and In- 
dians returned ; and till their removal, they were to be protected 
from all injury and insult. The gates were then opened, when 
the Indians, finding one of their people in irons, were so ex- 
asperated by the story of his sufferings and of Chubb's baseness 
to the others of his companions, that they actually massa- 
cred at once, several of the English soldiery. To preserve 
the rest of the prisoners from falling victims to wild, ungoverna- 
ble resentments, Iberville removed them to an Island and placed 
around them a strong guard. 

Chubb The French supposed that the garrison, through cowardice, 

compelled Chubb to capitulate against his will. But he was him- 
self censured with great severity, — and afterwards put under ar- 
rest, tried and cashiered.* The French thought this a great 
achievement.— The fortification, which had cost Massachusetts an 
immense sum of money, in the estimation of that day— to build it 
and garrison it 4 years, was now plundered by the captors, and 

July 18. then for the most part demolished. They set sail on the 18th, 
for Penobscot, where they continued till September 3d j inciting 
the Indians to a renewal of hostilities. 

,, . When the news of this disaster arrived at Boston, it was ap^ 

Major ' '■ 

^^lurchwiibprehended, the French and Indians might proceed as far west- 
proceeds ward as Piscataqua, and take or destroy all that might fall in their 

iftSUvard 

way. To resist or encounter them, therefore, Massachusetts im- 
mediately raised 500 men ; and Lieut. Gov. Stoughton, Conj- 



* The revenge of the Indians was satiated upon Chubb, in Feb, 1692, 
bv killing hi.n ut his rfsi.icnce jn Anclover, 



Chap, xxiii.] of Maine. 645 

mander-in-Chief, since the recal and subsequent death of Gov. A. D. 1G96. 
Pliips, gave Benjamin Church, August od, a commission by August 3. 
which he was appointed jNIajor-commandant of the expedition.* 
At Piscataqua, his place of rendezvous, he concentrated his 
forces ; assigning to his Captains, Graham, Brackett, Hunnewell, 
and Larkin, their rank and duty, and despatched to Col. Ged- 
ney, at York, a reenforcement of his Indian soldiers, for the de- 
fence of that town and the vicinity. Several days elapsed ere 
Major Church heard a lisp of the enemy ; and consequently 
concluded he had gone eastward. f 

A squadron of three British men of war, the Arundel, the a squadron 
Orford, and the Sorlings, furnished with militia men to serve as enemy, 
marines, and attended by a merchant ship of 20 guns, and a fire- 
ship, proceeding to sea, was only able to reach Penobscot in time 
to see the enemy set sail. The pursuit was pressed till dark ; 
and the next morning the squadron in a thick fog, lost sight of 
the Frenchmen, and returned, bringing to Boston a shallop taken, 
which had on board Villeau and 23 French soldiers. The 
French ships visited St. John and the southerly ports of the 
great peninsula, also Cape Breton, and finally reduced New- 
Ibundland to the dominion of the crown. J 

Maior Church, the last week in August, embarked at Piscata- Church as. 

•* _ o ' cends the 

qua ; and after ranging the eastern coast, came to anchor at the I'euobscoi. 
Island Monhegan. From this place he proceeded into Penob- 
scot bay, and when abreast " Mathebestuck Hills" [or Camden 
heights], he took in John York, to pilot him through these waters 
and up the river. York informed him, that when he was a pris- 
oner with the Indians, four years before, they had a fort built 
upon a little Island 50 or 60 miles up the river at the falls, 
which was a place of general resort, [probably the Island Lett,<^ 
or Old Town] ;|| and in the vicinity they " planted a great quan- 
tity of corn." Church and his men ascended the river to the 
«' Bend ,"11" then leaving their boats travelled on the western side 
two or three miles, passing places where the Indians had dwelt. 



* Church's 4th Eastern Expedition, p. 138-157. 
+ Church's 4th Eastern Expedition, p. 141-2. 

I 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 86-9U. j Pcnhallow's Indian Wars. 

II For the pilot told Cliurcli " there was no gettin<j to it, but in canoes, 
*' or on ice in the winter time ;'' and " there was no getting further with 
^•' large boats." IT At Eddingtop, 



646 THE HISTORY [VoL. I. 

A.J). 169;3. In this excursion, they killed and wounded four or five Indians, 
and took another, who told Major Church, the men of the tribe 
had gone to Canada, and the French were about fortifying them- 
selves, at the mouth of the river St. John. On his return, he 
found, in different places, abandoned habitations, fields of corn, 
and patches of turnips and pumpkins, particularly on the Isle of 
Penobscot [now Orphan Island] ; below which he reembarked 
and sailed for the bay of Fundy. 
chmch Among the settlements on the north shore of that bay, he made 

Fu'ndy,^and great destruction and took considerable plunder ; yet, while under 
seded!"^' Sail homeward, he was met in the waters of the Passamaquoddy, 
Sept. 28 Sept. 28, by a squadron from Boston, the Arundel, Capt. Hig- 
gins, the Province galley, Capt. Southwick, and a transport j the 
command of the whole expedition, including the forces under 
Major Church, being given to Col. Hawthorn, one of the Council. 
Church, though superseded, was submissive to orders, and 
joined the squadron, which proceeded with intent to drive Vil- 
lebon from the garrison at St. John. But the enterprize was 
attended with no success, and the fleet returned. 

Wherever there were any remaining people in Maine, they 

5 killed at were constantly liable to lose their lives, or be made captives by 

the liaads of lurking savages. At Saco, five of the soldiers, 

A. D. 1697. October 13th, were killed;* and the winter of 1696-7 was a 

A suffering 

wiuter. niost trying one, as well to savages as to their unransomed pris- 
oners ;f it never having been more intensely cold in New-Eng- 
land, nor the scarcity and price of provisions greater, since the 
arrival of the first colonists. 

July 4. '^1^6 Indians having entertained a great antipathy towards Maj. 

aS wife*^"^' Frost of Kittery, ever since the 400 were arrested at Coche- 

Jiiiled. pQ . ^^^ determined to imbrue their hands in his blood ; a party 
secreted themselves on the way side, five miles from his house, 
by hiding under a large log, in which they had stuck a row of 
green boughs. It was the Lord's day, July 4, 1697. They per- 
mitted his two sons, returning from meeting, to pass unhurt ; and 
aiming their guns at him, his wife and an attending footman, they 

* 2 Mather's Magnalia, p. 550. — 2 Hutchinson's History, p. 95. 

I In the winter of 1697-8, likewise, " many, both Indians and English 

prisoners were starved to death." — 2 JIath. Mag. p, 556 " Nine Indians," 

liunting-, ' ale their dogs and cats, and then' " died iiorribly famished." 



Chap, xxiii.] of Maine. 647 

killed all three at the first shot. He was a man of piety and A. D. 1097. 
public spirit. Several years, he had represented his town in the 
legislature, and been Major-commandant of the Yorkshire regi- 
ment. He was one of the Provincial Council under Danforth's 
administration ; and at the election preceding his death, he was, 
for the fourth time, chosen into the Council of Massachusetts 
and Maine, united under the late charter. 

Two young men, going with the tidings to Wells garrison, were Mischief ai 
waylaid and killed on their return ; also a man was taken cap- Vork/ikr- 
tive in York. Four men, who were mowing in Newicliawannock saco'. 
meadows, were next attacked with the tomahawk, three were 
cut down, and the fourth, in a personal encounter with a savage, 
slew him. A man standing sentry, while his neighbors were get- 
ting hay in tlie marshes of Wells, was shot down, and another, 
carried away half a league, was roasted to death. Saco-fort, so 
much the object of savage vengeance, seemed to lie almost per- 
petually under the eye of lurking spies. Lieut. Fletcher and a 
small party went upon Cow Island to procure fuel, where three 
of his men, while cutting wood, were killed, and he and his two 
sons, acting as sentinels, were seized and carried down the river 
in one of the Indians' canoes. Discovered by Lieut. Larrabee 
and a few- soldiers, on a scout, three of the Indians in the fore- 
most canoe, were shot and fell into the water, others being killed 
or wounded, and one prisoner rescued.* 

It was now rumored, that the French were determined to im- riojeris of 
prove their good fortune of the last year, which gave them Pem- iv'uiiiess"*^ 
aquid, the Island of Newfoundland, and the repossession of Nova 
Scotia ; and therefore, were about to send a large fleet to Amer- 
ica, with orders to make a general sweep upon the waters and 
coasts as far as Boston ; and to employ 1 500 French and In- 
dians in the work of universal destruction upon the New-England 
frontiers. These w^ere prodigious enterprizes, and excited fear- 
ful apprehensions. Massachusetts adopted the earliest and best 
possible measures for defence. All fortifications were strength- 
ened and supplied ; the militia were put upon the rolls of minute 
men ; and a force of 500 soldiers was placed under the com- 
mand of Major March, a popular and prudent officer, who was 



* Humphrey Scammon, his wife and two sons were carried away cap- 
tive from Saco into Canada, where tlifv were detained till the next year. 



648 THE HISTORY [VoL. t. 

A. D. 1697. directed to protect the eastern forts and frontiers, by ranging par- 
ties, and by every other possible expedient. It is true, a French 
fleet did arrive at Newfoundland, July 24th, but it proceeded no 
further, and every part of the enterprize failed, 
gg ^ 9 March ranged the eastern coast, and, September 9th, landed 

^'Td*'t ^'^ '"^'^ ^* Damariscotta. But ere they were fully ashore, a 
Dainaris- bodv of Indians, rising unawares, from their coven, with the 

colta. '' . 

usual war-whoop, poured in a full volley upon the troops ; — in- 
stantly receiving a repulsive charge, as well aimed, which drove 
them either to the woods or to their canoes, leaving their dead 
behind them. Our loss was about 12 or 13 killed and as many 
wounded ;* — a bloody skirmish, which closed this year's preda- 
tory war in Maine. 
Feace of The glad news of a peace, concluded at Ryswick, September 

Ryswick, . i • i 

Sept. 11. 11th, between England, l' ranee, and the nations engaged witli 
them in war, was proclaimed in Boston, on the 10th of Decem- 
ber. It was an event much more joyful, because of the devout 
belief entertained, that it would close the avenues of blood in 
America. The Canadian French could no longer take any 
open part hi hostilities, though they might take some malignant 
satisfaction, in seeing the ' heretic puritans' worried or destroyed 
A. D. 1G98. by the savages. Several acts of their barbarity and homicide, 
ScUudian ^ wcic in fact, Committed in the succeeding spring at different 
*'^'^' places ;f but the last and only instances of Indian ferocity in 

Maine, during the year, 1698, occurred at Spruce-creek (Kit- 
May 9. tery). Here an old man was literally murdered, May 9; for 
his life was taken by a gigantic savage, after he had surrendered : 
His two sons, also, were hurried away into captivity. But the 
giant, who is reputed to have been seven feet in height, was, in 
a few hours, shot dead by his own gun, as he grasped the bar- 
rel reversed, and was endeavoring to pull his canoe towards him 
at the shore. 
October 14. The Indians gave intimations, at our outposts, in the suraraer 
cnce°at Pe- months, of their desire lor peace. A conference was holden at 
no scot. Penobscot, Oct. 14, between Commissioners from Massachusetts, 
viz. Major Converse and Capt. Alden, and six Sagamores, at»- 



• 2 Mather's Majnalia, p. 553. 

t See the story of Hannah Diistan.— 2 Math. Mag. p. 550-2. — 2 Hutch, 
Hist.\'. 101. 



Chap, xxiii.] OF MAINE. 649 

tended by a great number of their Indians. These sang the A. D. 1698. 
songs of peace ; though then in mourning for Madockawando 
and " several other Sachems of the east" — who had lately fallen 
victims to " the grievous unknown disease, which," according 
to Doct. Mather, " consumed them wonderfully." They said, 
Frontenac told them, there was to be war no longer, and all pris- 
oners must be released ; and they had resolved to fight no more. 
In the parley, the Commissioners insisted upon a return of all 
the prisoners, and a removal of the resident missionaries at Pe- 
nobscot, Norridgevvock, and Androscoggin ; lest a treaty, if 
made, would be violated as heretofore through their instigation. 
They replied, the white prisoners will be free to go home, or stay 
with their Indian friends ; but the good Missionaries must not be 
driven away. 

The Commissioners from Massachusetts, Col. Phillips and A ireaiy 
Major Converse, taking passage from Boston in the Province Marepoint. 
galley, met the Sagamores of Penobscot,* Kennebeck, Andros- 
coggin and Saco, at Mare-point [now in Brunswick] ; and on 
the 7th of January, 1699, signed and ratified the treaty of Au- . ^ .„„ 

, , , . A. D. 1699. 

gust 11, 1693, with additional articles. They cast many reflec- 
tions upon the French, and confessed their own follies and offen- 
ces to be great ; saying, ' we do most humbly throw ourselves 
* upon the king's Majesty and mercy, and ask his pardon and 
' protection. We renew our allegiance to him, and promise to 
' fulfil every article in the recited treaty.' — All the prisoners 
present were then exchanged ; among whom was Bomaseen, and 
the rest were to be restored in the spring.f Great numbers of 
scalps had been, from time to time, carried to Canada, for which 
tiie French government gave considerable premiums. 

In this long and bloody war, which lasted ten years, all the incidenn of 
tribes eastward of the river Merrimack, inclusive, without excepting 
even the xMickmaks, were partakers, either of self-will or through 
the influence of the French. The Sokokis and Anasagunti- 
cooks were the most forward to commence hostilities, and the 
Canibas, the most reluctant, to make peace. War is always a 



* Those of Penobscot not expressed but included. — 2 JfeaPs JV". E. p. 
559—561. — 2 J>Jath. Jlag. p. 556-7. 

I Bomaseen and two otlicrs were on board the g-alley, who were not to 
be restored (ill (he Eng^lish captives were dclirered. — 5 Alasx, Rec. p. 
5S2. 

Vol. I. 69 



650 THE HISTORY OF MAINE. [VoL. I. 

A.D. 1699. heavy tax upon the population of the Indians. Fights, fatigue, 
famine and sickness, occasion wastes which the natural increase 
among them in seasons of tranquillity never repair. For scalps 
and plunder they chiefly received arms and ammunition from the 
French — not unfrequently provisions and wages, and always en- 
couragement. Yet the Indians, on the whole, gain nothing by 
war, and the English lose everything but their character. 

If the people in Maine had some public garrisons, several 

Losses. stockaded forts, and a great number of fortified houses construct- 
ed of timber, shot proof to musquetry, with flankers at oppo- 
site angles, and also exterior entrenchments ; — these could not 
withstand a long siege, a few of them only remaining undemolished. 
They afforded tolerable asylums for the inhabitants ; but were 
uncomfortable dwelling-places for families ; so much were 
the people crowded when within the walls. Many resigned 
their possessions to the destroyers, and departing, returned 
no more. All the towns and settlements, except Wells, York, 
Kittery and the Isles of Shoals, ' were overrun ;* and an 
untold number of domestic animals, was destroyed by a rapa- 
cious enemy. More dwellinghouses, in proportion to other losses, 
were, however, left unconsumed and standing, than in the for- 
mer war — though now tottering in ruins. About 450 people 
were either murdered, killed in battle or died of their wounds ;f 
and as many as 250, were, during the war, carried into captivi- 
ty ; some of whom perished of famine, hardships or disease. A 
few however, who were captured in their childhood, becoming 
attached to the society of the savages, chose to remain with 
them, and never would leave the tribes. J 

* Assacombuit, liimsclf a b!oad\' warrior, it is said, h;id " killed and tak- 
" en in this war 150 men, women and ciiidren." 

t 2 JInthiirx .Magnalia, fioS.— But he and JWa/, [2 vol ./Y. E. 544-562] 
are too low. By enumeration our loss was more than 7u0. 

\ An .flnrxdolc. — Several Indian women, suffering- with liung-er in the late 
war, and seeing horses upon the peninsula of Casco, requested their 
; husbands, to siioot a few of them, ' for we, said ihey, want some roast 

meat.' One, driven into a corner, was caught, which a young- Indian 
wished to have the pleasure of riding-. The mane and tail were clipl and 
twisted into a halter, and tiic savag-c mounted. Fearful of being- thrown, 
he had his feet tied fast together utuler the body of the horse ; when the 
DDbroken animal being let ^Oy g-alloped off with such furious speed, that bolli 
were presently out of sight, and nothing was ever found of cither, except 
one of the rider's limbs, which Ihe Indians buried in Capt. Brackctt's cellar. 



APPENDIX. 



No. 1. 



LETTERS PATE.NT TO SIEUR DE MO\TS, 
LiF.LTr.NANr Gf.NF.nAL OK Acadia and the circumjacent country, Novemdeh 8, 1G03. 
[Translated from IJEscarboVs History of j\''ew- France.'] 

Henry, by the Grace of God, King of France and Navarre : — 
To our dear and well beloved the Sieur de Monts, Gentleman in 
ordinary of our Bed-Chamber, Greeting. — As our greatest care and 
labor, since our accession to this Crown is, and always has been, 
to maintain and preserve it in its ancient dignity, greatness and 
splendor ; to extend and enlarge, as far as lawfully may be done, 
the boundaries and limits thereof ; We, being long informed of the 
situation and condition of the country and territory of Acadia ; 
— moved hereunto above all things by a peculiar zeal, and a de- 
vout and firm resolution, which wc have taken with the aid and 
assistance of God, the Author, Distributor and Protector of all 
Kingdoms and States ; to cause to be converted, brought over and 
instructed in Christianity, and in the belief and profession of our 
Faith and Religion, — the people who inhabit that country, at pres- 
ent a barbarous race, atheists, without Faith or Religion ; and to 
draw them from the ignorance and infidelity wherein they now are. 
Having also from the reports of Captains of vessels, pilots, mer- 
chants and others, who a long time ago have visited, frequented and 
trafficked with the people who are found there, long understood 
how profitable, convenient and useful may be to us, to our States and 
subjects, the possession, residence and occupancy of those places, 
for the great and apparent benefit which will accrue from the great 
frequentation and connection with the people there, and the traf- 
fick and commerce which may by this means bo safely carried on 
and negotiated. — We, for these causes, fully confiding in your great 
prudence, and in the knowledge you possess of the quality, con- 
dition, and situation of the said country of Acadia; from the di- 
vers voyages, travels and visits you have made into those parts, 
and others, neighboring and circumjacent, — assuring oursclf that 
this our resolution and intention being made known unto you, 
you v.ill 1)0 able attentively, diligently, and not less courageously and 
valorously' to execute, and bring to the perfection we desire; we 
have expressly appointed and established, — and by these presents 



652 APPENDIX. 

signed with our own hand, we do appoint, ordain, make, constitute 
and establish you, our Lieutenant General, to represent our person 
in the country, territory, coasts and confines of Acadia, from 
the 40th, to the 46th degree, — and within this extent, or any part 
thereof, as far inland as may be practicable, to establish, extend 
and make known our name, power and authority, — and thereunto 
subject, cause to submit and obey, all the people of the said land, 
and circumjacent country ; and by virtue hereof, and by all other 
lawful ways, to call, instruct, move and stir them up to the knowl- 
edge of God, and to the light of the christian faith and religion ; 
to establish it there, and in the exercise and possession of it, to 
maintain, keep and preserve the said people, and all others inhab- 
iting said places ; and in peace, quiet and tranquillity to command 
there, as well by sea as by land ; to order, determine and cause to 
be executed every thing which you shall judge can and ought to be 
done to maintain, keep and preserve the said places under our 
power and authority, by the forms, ways and means prescribed by 
our ordinances. And for your assistance in the premises, to ap- 
point, establish and constitute all necessary officers, as well in affairs 
of war, as in justice and policy, in the first instance, and from 
thence in future to nominate and present them to us for our approba- 
tion ; and to give such commissions, titles and grants as shall be 
necessary. 

And as circumstances shall require, yourself, with the advice of 
prudent and capable persons, to prescribe under our good pleasure, 
laws, statutes and ordinances, (conformable to ours as far as may 
be) especially in such matters and things as arc not provided for by 
these presents; to treat, and effectually contract peace, alliance and 
confederation, good friendship, correspondence and communication 
with the said people, and their princes, or others having power and 
command over them ; to maintain, keep and carefully observe the 
treaties and alliances you shall stipulate M'ith them, provided they 
on their part faithfully observe them ; and in default thereof to 
make open war against them, to compel and bring them back to 
such reason as you shall judge fit for the honor, obedience and 
service of God, and the establishing, upholding and preserving our 
said authority among them ; at least to visit and frequent them by 
yourself and all our subjects, in all security, liberty, frequentation 
and communication ; to negotiate, and traffick there, amicably and 
peaceably ; to grant them favors and privileges, and bestow on them 
employments and honors. Which entire power above-said, we also 
will, and ordain, that you have over all our said subjects, and others 



APPENDIX. t)53 

who shall remove and inhabit there, to traffick, and trade, and reside 
in the said places ; to hold, take, reserve and appropriate to your- 
self what you shall wish, and shall see to be most convenient and 
fit for your rank, condition and use. To parcel out such parts and 
portions of said lands, — to give and attribute to them such titles, 
honors, rights, powers and faculties as you shall see fit, according 
to the rank, condition and merits of the people of the country or 
others ; especially to people, cultivate, and cause the said lands to 
be settled the most speedily, carcfiilly and skilfully that time, places 
and conveniences will permit ; to this end, to make, or cause to be 
made the discovery and examination, of them, along the extent of 
the seacoasts, and other countries of the main land, that you shall 
order and prescribe, within the said limit of tlie 40th degree to the 
4Gth or otherwise, as far as may be done along the said seacoasts, 
and into the main land ; carefidly to search after and to distinguish 
all sorts of mines of gold and silver, copper and other metals and 
minerals; to dig for and collect them, and purify and refine them 
for use ; to dispose of, as we have directed in the edicts and regu- 
lations that we have made in this kingdom, the profit and emolu- 
ment thereof, by yourself, or by those you may appoint for that pur- 
pose, — reserving unto us only the tenth part of the produce of the 
gold, silver and copper, — appropriating to yourself our portion of the 
other metals and minerals, to aid and relieve you in the great expen- 
ses, which the said charge may bring upon you. Meantime, for 
your safety and comfort, and for that of all our subjects, who shall 
go to those parts, and shall dwell and trafiick in the said lands, as 
generally all others, who shall place themselves under our power 
and protection, — we authorize you to build and construct one or more 
forts, places, towns, and all other houses, dwellings and habita- 
tions, ports, havens, retreats and lodgements that you may consider 
proper, useful and necessary to the execution of the said enterprize ; 
to establish garrisons, and soldiers to protect them ; and to employ, 
for aid in the aforesaid purposes, vagabonds, idle and dissolute per- 
sons, as well from the towns as from the country, — and also those 
condemned to perpetual banishment or for three years at least, be- 
yond our realms — provided this be done by the advice and consent, 
and by the authority of our oflicers. 

Besides the preceding (and that which is elswhere appointed, 
directed and ordained to you by the commissioners and authorities 
given you by our very dear cousin the Sieur de Danville,* Admiral 

* Anville is an error in Hazard's cop}" — for it appears from history, that Charles Mont- 
morenei, Due de Danville, was at that time Admiral of France. 

Vol. I. 70 



654 APPENDIX, 

of France for that which expressly concerns the admirality in the 
achievement, expedition and execution of the said things) — to do 
generally for the conquest, peopling, settlement and preservation of 
the said land of Acadia, and of the coasts, circumjacent territories, 
and of their appurtenances and dependences, under our name and 
authority, all we ourselves could do, or cause to be done, if wc 
were there present in person, even in cases requiring more special 
direction, than we have provided for by these presents ; to the con- 
tents of which we direct, ordain, and expressly enjoin all our jus- 
tices, officers and subjects to conform themselves, and obey you, and 
give attention to you in all the said things, their circumstances and 
dependencies. 

To give you also in the execution of them all aid and comfort, 
main strength and assistance of which you shall have need, and 
shall be by you required, — all under the pains of rebellion and dis- 
obedience. And in order that no one may pretend cause of ignor- 
ance of this our intention, and be disposed to intermeddle in 
whole or in part, with the charge, dignity and authority, that we give 
you by these presents ; we have, of our certain knowledge, full 
power and royal authority, revoked, suppressed, and declared null and 
of no effect, henceforth and from the present time, all other powers 
and commissions, letters and despatches given and delivered to any 
person whomsoever, to discover, people and inhabit said lands, in 
the said extent contained within the said 40th degree, to the 46th 
degree, whatsoever they may be. 

And furthermore, we direct and command all our said officers, 
of whatever rank or condition they may be, that these presents, 
or a certification thereof duly compared herewith, by some one 
of our beloved and faithful counsellors, notaries and secretaries, or 
other royal notary, they the said officers cause, at your request, ap- 
plication and suit, or at the suit of our attornies, to be read, publish- 
ed and registered in the registers of their several jurisdictions, au- 
thorities and districts, preventing as much as shall belong to them, 
all troubles and hindrances contrary hereunto. For such is our plea- 
sure. Given at Fontainbleau the eighth day of November, in the 
year of Grace, one thousand six hundred and three, and of our reign 
the fifteenth. 

Signed, HENRY. 

[And lower down — by the king, Potif.r. — And sealed upon a sim- 
ple label, with yellow Wax.] 



APPENDIX. 00& 

No. 2. 

SIR WILLIAM ALEXANDER'S PATENT OF NOVA SCOTIA, SEPT. 10, 1621. 

[From John Palairet's Description of the English and French possessions in J^''crth 

America.] 

James, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France 
and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &lc. — To all the Clergy and 
Laity of his Dominions — Greeting. 

Be it known, that we have ever been careful to embrace every 
opportunity, that offered, for the honor and advantage of our king- 
dom of Scotland, and that we think there is no acquisition more 
easy and more innocent, than those which may be made by carry- 
ing new colonies into foreign and uncultivated countries, where are 
the necessaries of life ; especially if such lands are either uninhab- 
ited or occupied by unbelievers, whom to convert to the Christian 
faith, is a duty of groat importance to the glory of God, 6lc. 

For these causes, as well as in consideration of the good, faithful, 
and acceptable favors, which have been already and hereafter to 
be performed to us by our trusty and well beloved Councillor, Sir 
William Alexander, Kt. who is the first of our subjects of Scot- 
land, that undertook to carry over this foreign colony at his own 
expense, and has desired leave to cultivate lands and countries 
included within the limits undermentioned : — We therefore, from 
our royal intention to extend the Christian religion, and to promote 
the wealth, prosperity and peace of the natural subjects of our said 
kingdom of Scotland, have, by the advice and consent of our 
cousin and councillor, John, Earl of Mar, &.c. and of the other 
Lords-Commissioners of the said kingdom of Scotland, given, grant- 
ed and transferred, and by virtue of this present, issuing from us, — 
We do give, grant and transfer to the said William Alexander, his 
heirs, or all claimants by right of inheritance from him, all and sin- 
gular the lands of the Continent and Islands situate and lying in 
America, reckoning from the cape or promentory called Cape Sable, 
at 43'' or thereabouts, from the equator towards the north, that is 
to say, from the said promontory along the seashore that runs from 
the west, as far as St. Mary's bay, and stretching from thence to 
the north, in a straight line, to the entrance or mouth of that great 
bay which washes the eastern coast, between the countries of the 
Souriquois and of the Etechemins, as far as to the river o( St. Croix, 
and to the farthest source or spring, which first comes from the 
west to mingle its waters with those of that river ; from thence by a 
straight imaginary line, crossing the lands or running towards the 



APPENDIX 

north, as far as the fir.^t bay, river or spring which runs into the great 
river of Canada ; and irom thence continuing eastward to the sea along 
the shores of the river of Canada, to the river, bay, port or latitude, 
commonly known by the name of Gachepe or Gaapie ; and afterwards, 
from the south-east side as far as the Isles called BacaJaos or Cape 
Breton, leaving the said Isles on the right, and the gulf of the said 
great river of Canada or the great bay and the lands of Newfound- 
land or Terra Nova, with the Isles thereto appertaining, on the left ; 
and thence passing to the said cape or promontory of Cape Breton, 
turning to the south and west as far as the above mentioned Cape 
Sable, where begins the tract that is to be included and compre- 
hended, between the said seacoasts and their circumferences from 
the sea, to all the lands of the continent, with the rivers, bays, tor- 
rents, roads, isles or lakes situate about six leagues from any of the 
parts both of the said coasts and their circumferences either to the 
west, north or south, and from the south-east (in which situation is 
Cape Breton,) and from the southern part, where lies Cape Sable, 
all the seas and Islands to 41) leagues of said coasts, therein includ- 
ing the great Island commonly called the Island of Sable or Sab- 
Ions, situate towards Carban, or south south-east, to about thirty 
leagues from the said Cape Breton in the ocean and at the 44th 
degree of latitude, or thereabouts. — All which said lands shall for 
the future bear the name of New Scotland, [Nova Scoiia,] and 
be also divided into such parts and portions, and be called by such 
names as Sir William Alexander shall think fit; together with all 
the mines, as v.'ell the royal ones of gold and silver, as the other 
mines of iron, lead, copper, pewter, brass, &c. And if any doubts 
or questions shall hereafter arise upon the interpretation or con- 
struction of any clause, in the present letters patent contained, they 
ghall all be taken and interpreted in the most extensive sense, and 
in fcivor of the said William Alexander, his heirs and assigns afore- 
said. Furthermore, v.e of our certain knowledge, our own mere 
notion, regal authority and royal power, have made, united, annex- 
ed, erected, created and incorporated, and we do, by these our let- 
ters patent, make, unite, annex, erect, create and incorporate, the 
whole and entire Province and lands of Nova Scotia, [New Scot- 
land] aforesaid, with all the limits thereof, seas, &c. officers and 
jurisdictions, and all other things generally and specially above 
mentioned, into one entire and free dominion and barony, to be 
called at all times hereafter, by the aforesaid name of Nova Scotia. 
In witness whereof, we have to these our patents affixed our great 
seal, in the presence of our said cousins and councillors, Sir James, 



APPENDIX. 657 

Marquis of Hamilton, George, Earl of Keith, Alexander, Earl of 
Dumforniling, our Councillor, Thoma?, Earl of Melros, (Sec. Secre- 
tary, our beloved and privy councillors, Mr. Richard CocUburn the 
keeper of the privy seal, &.c. 

, Given at our castle at Windsor, the tenth day of September in 
the year of our Lord, 1621, and of our reign the 55th and 19th. 

No. 3. 

NARRATIVE OF iVRS. H.\N.\.\H SWARTO.X'S CAPTiViTY, 
JIav 1600— Nov. 169J. 

[Compiled from 2il vol. Doct. J\Iathcr''s Ma^nalia.] 

A NARRATIVE of 3Irs. Hannah Swarton's* captivity, will give some 
idea of savage life and the sufferings of captives. In May, 1G90, 
when the enemy beset Falmouth, her husband, herself and their 
family, consisting of four children, were dwelling at a short distance 
northerly of the fort. The Indians, on entering the house, killed 
her husband before her eyes ; and carried her, and her daughter 
and three sons into captivity.- — My master (says she) was a Canada 
Indian, whose wife was an eastern native, partly bred up among the 
English at Black-point, but now turned papist. Wc presently moved 
off eastward. The provisions taken from our own and our neigh- 
bors' houses were soon consumed ; and even while they lasted, our 
direful afflictions deprived me of all appetite. My children were 
soon separated from me, and distributed among the captors ; and 
though we were sometimes permitted to see each other, we were not 
allowed to converse much together or mingle our tears : for the sym- 
pathies of natural affection unrepressed, are always so affronting to 
Indians, that they would threaten us with instant death, if we wept. 
Though sunk with fatigue, we were, after a week or ten days, long 
destitute of any food, except ground-nuts, acorns, roots, wild weeds, 
and a little dogs' flesh ; — a sustenance which, though miserable in- 
deed, was yet quite insufficient to satisfy the cravings of hunger. 
At one time they killed a bear — afterwards they took a turtle and 
some fish — of which I was allowed to be in part a partaker. Once, 
a piece of moose's liver was given me — a refreshing morsel truly, 
to my hungry appetite. In our travels about the shores of Casco- 
bay, and through the country to Kennebeck, I was compelled to 
carry heavy burdens, and to go at their pace or be killed at once, 

* Thongli Dr. INIather, [2 Magnalia, p. 306—12] calls her by that name ; 
yet query, if it were not Swirnton? 



APPENDIX. 

After my shoes and clothes became worn and tattered, my feet and 
limbs were often wounded and bleeding ; and by reason of toil and 
faintness, my pace was so'checked, that I was often threatened with 
an uplifted tomahawk over my head. One John York, a fellow-suf- 
ferer, being entirely exhausted, was taken aside and despatched 
outright. 

Once, my mistress and myself were left '^six days without food, 
except the tainted bladder of a moose. This being too tough and 
loathsome to eat, we boiled it and drank the broth. At length she 
directed me, to go and make a fire on a remote point of the shore, 
in hopes by the smoke to invite, fortuitously, a visit of the Indians. 
Espying a canoe, I beckoned it ashore, when the squaws in it came, 
and gave me a roasted eel; — and never had I tasted meat more pal- 
atable. Through the whole summer and autumn, I was hurried up 
and down the wilderness ; for wherever an Indian happens to be, 
he is on the point of going somewhere else, never contented, nor at 
rest. They are no economists ; they eat excessively, whenever 
possessed of enough, and then have nothing. In the season of 
fruit, I lived on wortleberries, and a kind of wild cherries, which 
grew on bushes ; being obliged also, to gather them for my mistress, 
so long as any remained. When winter commenced, they put upon 
me an Indian dress ; giving me a slight blanket, a pair of leathern 
stockings, and moccasins : — Yet many times, my limbs were nearly 
frozen. Even in their huts, the smoke and stench, cold and fam- 
ine, made suffering more extreme, and slavery more dreadful. A 
rush of recollections often filled my soul with anguish, which no 
tongue nor pen can describe. Woman-like, I reflected upon my- 
self with tears, that I ever left the privileges of my birth-place, and 
the smiles of kindreds, — public worship and the divine ordinances. 
But my native Beverly, was only sweet in name and in memory ; and 
as it was, through over-emulous desires, of adding to worldly substance 
that we had exchanged it, for a new settlement destitute of church 
privileges and the gospel ministry, I thought I had directly brought 
upon myself the judgments of a frowning God. Now bereaved of hus- 
band, children, home, and every thing but a miserable life ; I was 
half-distracted. Languor, melancholy, famine and suffering, prey- 
ed upon my spirits and my life. Yet in mi/ distress I cried often 
xinto the Lord, (in the language of another,) hoio long wilt thou hide 
thy face from me ! hoio lung shall mine enemy be exalted over me ! 

To aggravate, if possible, my grief and distress, when we arrived 
at Norridgewock, every English prisoner was removed from our 
company ; and I was told my oldest son was killed — a fate, I 



APPENDIX. 659 

feared, destined to all my children, while I had only Rachel's 
consolation, to weep for them. 

From that place, I was obliged to take up a long and wretched 
journey, in the heart of winter, through the wilderness to Canada. 
I travelled in deep snow, over steep hideous mountains, through 
swamps and thickets, and among windfalls ; stepping from log 
to log, near a thousand in a day, — at the same time, carrying on 
my shoulders a heavy burden. So frequently did my feet and 
limbs bleed, that my tracks in the snow might be readily traced by 
the blood. Without tasting of domestic meat or bread, or having a 
comfortable night on the way, I arrived at last, about the middle of 
February, 1G91, in the vicinity of Quebec ; where my master pitch- 
ed his wigwam, in sight of a few French habitations. Sent thither 
to beg food for him and his squaw, I found the inhabitants kind 
and generous. They fed me with refreshing food ; and in the 
second visit, I tarried, by my master's consent, over night. The 
next morning I was called upon by an Englishman, who though 
a prisoner to the French, ventured to attend me about four miles to 
Quebec, and generously introduced me into the family of the 
Chief Justiciary of the Province. The Lady Intendant, paid my 
late Indian master a satisfactory ransom ; and I became her waiting 
servant. 

Kind and attached to me, she soon joined with the priests and nuns, 
and strongly urged me to become a disciple of the catholic religion. 
This, to me, was a new species of trial ; and I presently found my- 
self transferred from one furnace of afflictions to another. I was hear- 
tily disposed to please my w'orthy mistress ; while I was in conscience 
and in duty bound not to betray my Lord, but contend earnestly 
for the faith, once delivered to the saints, I sometimes attended 
the papal worship ; but at last withdrawing, I was treated with 
harder usage. More than once, the priests threatened to send me 
to France, where heretics, they said, have to take the flames. 

At length, being able to procure an English bible, I searched 
and read the scriptures daily, which yielded me the refreshing toatcrs 
of life : — A religion pure and simple — at an infinite remove from 
human merit and catholic rites. Col. Tyng of Falmouth, and Mr. 
Alden, fellow captives, were permitted to converse with me, and ap- 
peared to be firm in the protestant doctrines ; strengthening me in 
the faith of them. Still, during this long period of more than four 
years, my religious belief was assailed again and again, and 
severely tried, by the superstitious friars. But an acquaintance, 
formed about that time with Margaret Stilton, a pious captive, prov- 



560 APPENDIX. 

ed a balm to my afflicted soul. Oh the seasons, never to be forgot- 
ten, when we together perused the sacred volume, and in social 
prayer reciprocated the devout sentiments of the holy Psalmist ; — / 
shall not die hut live, and declare the works of the Lord : Truly 
he has chastened us sore, hut he has not given us over to death. 

To my inexpressible joy, when Capt. Gary arrived in a vessel to 
carry the English captives home from Quebec, I, with my youngest 
son, was admitted to a passage, leaving, however, three children — 
my only daughter, now about 20, supposed to be at Montreal, and 
my other two sons, if living, whom I had never seen since the 
morning after we were taken captive. We arrived at Boston in 
November, 1G95, after an absence of five years and a half, from my 
beloved country — and the rapturous joys of friends, meeting on a 
return from Indian captivity, can be more easily imagined than told. 



APPENDIX. 661 

No. 4. 

SKETCHES OF THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS !N MAIPiE, 

DURING THE FIRST CEjJTURY, AI'TER THE SETTV.EMENT OF THE COUNTRY ; 

Alphdbsticclly arranged. 

John Alden, one of the original band of pilgrims, that settled 
at Plymouth, in 1620, is said to have been the first who sprang 
from the boat upon the shore at the time of landing. He settled 
at Duxbury, and was an Assistant or Councillor, in the govern- 
ment of that Colony, 42 years, including his first election in 1633. 
The same year he was sent to Kennebec as a resident magistrate to 
protect the trade on that river. In 1G34 occurred his alarming dif- 
ficulty with Capt. Hoskins, there, in which the latter was killed, and 
the former did not escape censure, though the homicide itself was 
deemed excusable. This anecdote is told of him ; — as it is said, 
the celebrated Miles Standish having buried his wife, within a few 
months after the colony was planted, sent by Alden, young, ruddy, 
personable, to know if his addresses to the daughter of William 
MuUins would be acceptable. The messenger accordingly made 
inquiry of the father, who replied, that ' Precilla' (for that was 
the daughter's name) must be consulted before he could return 
any answer, thoiigh he had himself no particular objection. She 
was therefore called into the room ; and when she had taken seat, he 
arose, and in a most prepossessing manner told his errand. To 
every word, she listened with utmost attention and then casting 
an open interested look upon him, said, " prithee, John, and why 
not rather speak for yourself ?" — The answer was so imexpected 
that he could only bow obeisance amidst a blush of countenance, 
and take his leave. But the hint was too good not to be improv- 
ed, and the acquaintance in due time, though piquant to the af- 
fronted Standish, ripened into a marriage, the fruits of which were 
eight children. He died A. D. 1687, aged 88 years. 

His son, Capt. John Alden, married Major Phillips' daughter 
Elizabeth, of Saco ; and having built a saw-mill in that place, re- 
sided there more or less of the time for twenty years. Meanwhile 
he was commander of a sloop in the Colony-service, employed in 
supplying the eastern forts with stores and provisions. Having 
removed to Boston, he was arrested, in 1692, for witchcraft, and 
thrown into prison, where he lay in close confinement, fifteen 
Vol. I. 71. 



662 APPENDIX. 

weeks. However, by the assistance of his friends, he effected an 
escape, and kept out of the way, till the infatuation had eflfectu- 
ally abated. He died, 1702. 

Sir William Alexander was born at Clarkmannanshire, Scotland, 
in 1580, and married the daughter and heiress, of Sir William 
Erskine. He had a liberal education, and after travelling in for- 
eign countries, he joined the court of King James, and attended 
him into England. On the transfer of his majesty to the throne 
of that kingdom, he wrote a gratulatory poem. In short, he was 
so fond of the muses, that his royal master called him ' his philo- 
sophical poet.' In 1613, he was selected one of the gentleman 
ushers to prince Charles, appointed master of requests, and re- 
ceived the honor of Knighthood. But this was only the beginning 
of preferments and favor, for his king gave him a Charter of No- 
va Scotia, Sept. 10, 1621 ; the office of Secretary of State for 
Scotland, in 1626 ; a peerage of that kingdom, in 1630, by the 
title of Viscount Sterling ; and June 14, 1633, raised him to the 
grade of earl. These dignities Avere perhaps more readily con- 
ferred upon him because his master had taken from him his prov- 
ince, sometimes called Acadia, and resigned it to France, under the 
treaty of St. Germains ; — actual possession being assumed by his 
subjects during the last mentioned year. He was further remu- 
nerated by having one of the twelve royal Provinces assigned to 
him in 1635, situate between Pemaquid and St. Croix, and also 
Long Island, or Isle Sterling, opposite Connecticut. He was evi- 
dently more of a scholar, than a statesman. Sir Thomas Urqu- 
hart, a cotemporary countryman of his, tartly remarks, that he 
was not satisfied with plucking a laurel from the muses and being 
a prince among the poets ; but like another Alexander craved the 
region of some New-foundlaud, and the sovereignty of another 
Scotland. He died A. D. 1640, leaving two daughters — both his 
sons having deceased before him. William, his lordship's eldest 
son's heir, succeeded to the grandfather's estate and dignities, but 
survived him only a short time, and left no heir : therefore the 
heirs of Sir William's second son, Henry, took the inheritance. 
The descendants have always said, that earl Henry never sold the 
province between Pemaquid and St. Croix, to the Duke of York ; 
but only loaned to him the title-deed, to take a description of the 
Island Sterling, and he improperly caused the whole to be insert- 
ed in his original ducal Patent, of March 12, 1664. William 
Alexander, a native of New-York City, and a distinguished offi- 



APPENDIX. 

cer of the Revolution, is a descendant. He went to Great Britain 
A. D. 1760, in pursuit of his titular dignity and ancestral estate ; 
and though he failed of obtaining the acknowledgement of them, 
he was uniformly called and addressed by the title of Lord Ster- 
ling. 

Isaac AUerton, one of the first that settled at Plymouth, origin- 
ally opened and commenced the trade with our Eastern Indians. 
By a little barter from year to year at Monhegan and the vicinity, 
he became acquainted with the fur trade and fishery in this quar- 
ter ; and in 1625, a shallop loaded with corn was sent from Ply- 
mouth up Kennebec river, which was exchanged for 700 lbs. of 
beaver, besides other furs. Next year a small trading-house was 
erected at Penobscot [Biguyduce] ; and in 1627, Mr. Allerton 
took a voyage to England and obtained from the Plymouth Coun- 
cil, the first patent for trade on the Kennebec ; and the year fol- 
lowing, a truck-house was established on the banks of that river. 
In 1629, January 13th, he obtained another Patent with more ex- 
tended privileges ; and in 1633, he was engaged in establishing a 
trading-house at Machias. When he returned from England, with 
the last mentioned patent, he took passage, on board of the Lyon, 
William Pierce, master, who sailed from Bristol, England, in the 
spring following for Penobscot, having in the vessel, the agent of 
the Muscongus Patentees, and four or five men sent to establish a 
trading-house, at the mouth of St. Georges' river. He removed 
to New-Haven in 1643, where he resided at least fifteen years. 

John Archdale came over from England to Maine in the autumn 
of 1663 ; or according to Joscelyn, his arrival was early the next 
year. He appeared in the capacity of agent and Deputy-gover- 
nor under Ferdinando Gorges, Esq. grandson of the patentee and 
proprietor of Maine. It seems, that on the restoration of Charles 
II., Gorges spread his claim to the Province, before the throne ; 
entered into a correspondence with some of his friends here ; and 
so far as defective records enable us to judge, obtained a royal 
decision in his favor, and formed a plan of government, which, in 
some respects innovated upon that of his grandfather. Certain it 
is, that Archdale came into the Province with commissions to 
these twelve men as Councillors or magistrates ; namely, Fran- 
cis Champernoon, and Thomas Withers of Kittery, Edward 
Rishworth and Francis Raynes of York, Joseph Bowles of Wells, 
Francis Hook of Saco, Henry Watts of Blue-point, Henry Jos- 
celyn of Black-point, Robert Jordan of Spurwink, Francis Neale 



663 



664 



APPENDIX. 

of Casco, and Thomas Purchas of Pegypscot : — also another to 
James Wiggins, who was appointed marshall. On the distribu- 
tion of these commissions, a v/^arfare was commenced by Massa- 
chusetts against these magistrates and their party, and several of 
them were indicted and punished, for their rebellion ; so that the 
provincials were in a state of revolution, in 1664, bordering on 
downright anarchy ; — Massachusetts exercising absolute command, 
reckless of the king's order, requiring a restoration of the province 
to Gorges; while some of Archdale's or Gorge's new magistrates 
were " granting warrants and other precepts, taking depositions 
and hearing causes." The same year, the four Royal Commis- 
sioners, Nichols, Cartwright, Carr and Maverick, arrived ; and in 
June of the following year they visited Maine and put an end to 
Archdale's short administration. 

Lewis Bane, a worthy inhabitant of York, represented his town 
in the General Court, in J704, and afterwards had eight elections. 
His mind was of a military and mechanical turn ; he commanded 
the town-company several years ; and was appointed with Major Jo- 
seph Hammond, to the erection of fort Mary at W inter-harbor, Saco, 
in 1708. His son Jonathan succeeded Capt. Bradbury in command 
of the Block-house, which stood in the upper part of the plantation. 
— Joseph Bane, of the same place and probably a kindred, or broth- 
er, born in 1676, was taken by the Indians in 1692, and detained 
a captive among them, seven years and ten months. During his 
captivity, he travelled with them extensively over the country, and 
learned to speak their language with so much facility, as to ren- 
der him exceedingly useful afterwards, as an interpreter. His re- 
turn home, was not till after the close of the second Indian war. 

Benjamin Blackman, a son of Rev. Adam Blackman, the first 
minister of Stratford, Connecticut, was a graduate of Harvard 
College, 1663, and afterwards for several years, a preacher of the 
gospel at Maiden, Massachusetts, though his name is not itali- 
cised in the catalogue. He was a man of considerable talents and 
learning ; yet his abilities evidently rendered him more fit for 
business than for the desk. In 1675, he married at Boston, the 
daughter of Joshua Scottow, who conveyed to him, five years 
afterwards, a tract of land, near Blank-point ferry ; upon which 
he settled and subsequently resided, about seven or eight years ; 
after which he removed to Saco. Till this time, he had usually 
preached to the settlers in his vicinity ; and the next year, 1683, 
he represented the town of Saco in the General Assembly, under 



APPENDIX. 

the provincial administration of President Danforth, and became 
the proprietor of a large real estate. While Sir Edmund Andros 
was Chief Magistrate of New-England, he commissioned Mr. 
Blackman a Justice of Peace ; and it was he who issued a Avarrant 
for the arrest of twenty Indians in 1688 ; and yet it was by the 
Governor's order, that they were set at liberty. He removed, after 
this, to Boston, but never returned. 

Richard Bonighton was a co-proprietor with Thomas Lewis, of 
the Patent on the eastern side of the Saco, obtained February 12, 
1629, old style. Having previously determined to try their for- 
tune in this eastern wilderness, they both emigrated from England, 
and entered upon the grant, in the ensuing June. The dwelling- 
house of Capt. Bonighton stood a short distance, southerly of the 
Lower Falls, on the easterly side of the river. He was an upright, 
sedate and sensible man — and so much a disciple of peace, that he 
was never known, it is said, to have been a party to a lawsuit. 
According to the accounts we have of the public trust confided 
to him, he was sole Assistant to Mr. Vines, the superintendant of 
the Plantation till the arrival of Governor William Gorges, in 
1635 ; and one of the Council both under his administration, and 
under Sir Ferdinando's Charter-government; — an office which 
he held to the time of his death in 1648. He left one son and two 
daughters, all born in England. John, his son, a resident near 
his father, was a contentious refractory man ; and though he liv- 
ed to the year 1684, he was one of the unhappy mortals, that die 
unlamented. The elder of his sisters, married Richard Foxwell 
of Scarboro' and the other, Richard Cummings of Saco. 

Robert Boothe appears among the original settlers of Wells, in 
1643. He thence removed to Saco ; and in 1648, he was one of 
the magistrates, or assistants under Mr. Cleaves' administration of 
Lygonia. He w^as a man of sound sense and considerable educa- 
tion ; besides which, he possessed a mind so rarely gifted, a piety 
so lively, and a tongue so fluent of expression, thai he frequently 
officiated as a lay-preacher, in religious assemblies, profitably ed- 
ifying those who heard him. On the submission of Saco to Mas- 
sachusetts, in 1653, he was town-commissioner and clerk of the 
•writs ; and in 1659, he was a deputy to the General Court at 
Boston, — being the first representative the town ever returned. 
He died in 1672, aged 68, leaving a character worthy to be im- 
itated by all such, as would rise to distinction by their own merits. 

Anthony Bracket and Thomas Bracket, brothers, removed from 
Portsmouth, N. H. to Casco-neck, about 1662-3 ; married the 



665 



666 



APPENDIX. 

daughters of Michael Mitten, the grandchildren of George 
Cleaves; and settled not far from the head of Back-cove. Anthony 
was taken captive by the Indians in 1676, and again in 1689 ; and 
was with them about a year in each captivity. He was command- 
er of Fort Loyal and of the town-militia company, in 1682; and 
in that and the preceding years, was the representative of Falmouth, 
to the General Assembly, under President Danforth's administra- 
tion, — a very eminent and popular man of his time. He died be- 
fore the 3d Indian war, leaving several children. The life of 
Thomas was not a long one ; he being killed by the Indians, in 
1676, when they made their first attack upon Casco. 

John Brown was one of the earliest settlers at New-harbor on 
the western shore of Broad-bay, [in Bristol]. This enterprise 
he was probably induced to undertake, by one John Pierce, 
an emigrant from the city of London, who obtained a patent, dated 
June 1, 1621, from the Plymouth Council, allowing him the priv- 
ilege of settling at any place he and his associates might choose, 
not however within ten miles of any other settlement, " unless 
on the opposite side of some great and navigable river ;" and he 
located on the southerly margin of Broad-bay. Brown had a hab- 
itancy there as early as 1625 ; and the same year, July 15, pur- 
chased of the Indians a tract between Pemaquid and Broad-bay, 
eight miles by twenty-five in extent, including Muscongus Island. 
Thus he and Pierce, whose father was his brother-in-law, united 
the puchase with the patent and commenced a plantation. He 
was alive in 1660 ; and when he died, he left a son of the same 
name, who resided on the premises, and a daughter, who married 
'Sander Gould. The father, or possibly another of his name, join- 
ed one Bateman in purchasing, of the Indians a considerable tract, 
in Woolwich. John, junior, when he died, (1720) aged 85 years, 
devised his Broad-bay estate to his son, who resided at Saco. 
From the original settler, is deduced the famous "Brown Right," 
which has occasioned so much controversy in that quarter. 

Thomas Cammock, (or Commock), who appears among the early 
emigrants to this country, originally settled on the northern side of 
the Piscataqua. Here, Walter Neale, resident agent of Sir Fer- 
dinando Gorges, as well as of John Mason, executed to Cammock, 
June 2, 1633, a territorial grant, extending halfway from that to 
Agamenticus-river. Displeased with this situation and having pre- 
viously procured of the Plymouth Council, in 1630, a patent of 
lands between Spurwink and Black-point, [Scarboro'] ; he sold 



APPENDIX. 

tbe former in 1635, to James Trueworthy and removing upon the 
latter, settled at Prout's Neck, not far from the mouth of Dun- 
stan-river. Capt. Canimock was a nephew of the earl of War- 
wick ; and was in 1635-6, one of William Gorges' councillors or 
assistants. He died in 1C43, on a voyage to the West Indies ; 
having previously conveyed 500 acres of his estate, to the use of 
his wife and the residue to his friend Henry Joscelyn, by deed to 
take effect after his death, provided he should die without issue. 
He did die childless and Joscelyn married his widow. 

Humphery Chadbourne, came over to Piscataqua, as early as 
1631, and dwelt, a few years, at Stra\vberry-bank, Portsmouth. 
Next he removed to Newichawannock, about the year 1638-9 
and settled at Great Works, or Chadbourne's river, now in South- 
Berwick. For the purpose of forming a large establishment in 
business, he procured, in 16413, from Sagamore Rowles, a quit-claim 
of a large tract, at the mouth of that river and up its banks and 
erected expensive saw-mills. He was a man of mind and influ- 
ence ; and at his day, none in enterprise and activity went before 
him. In 1657, and two other years, he was sent a deputy to the 
General Court, at Boston, by Kittery, his plantation at Newich- 
awannock, being then a part of that town. He was also, in 1663, 
one of the County-court associates. Benjamin Chadbourne, his 
great-grandson, who was a councillor several years, both under the 
Province-charter and the Constitution, was in possession of the 
ancestral estate, to the time of his death. In 1793, he remarked 
— " I am now 75 years old, and since I can remember, there was 
no house betwen mine and Canada.'' 

Francis Champernoon, the cousin of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 
came over probably, in 1639, one of his charter-councillors, and 
settled in Kittery. He was an inflexible adherent to the interests 
of his worthy kindred and patron ; and of course a zealous foe to 
all assumption of government, exercised by Massachusetts. Al- 
ways actuated by a spirit of firmness and consistency, which in- 
spired confidence, he was commissioned Justice, both under 
Archdale, in 1663-4, and the king's commissioners, in 1665. He 
held also, the oflice of militia-captain — a post of no inconsiderable 
honor in those times ; but his political course was unpopular, and 
he removed to New-Hampshire, where he was one of the Prov- 
ince-council, in 1684. He had three daughters, two of whom 
married into the Cutts family ; and the third married Humphrey 
Elliot, whose son Champernoon, on his grandfather's death, in 
1687, became a principal proprietor of his estate. 



667 



668 



APPENDIX. 

George Cleaves, [otherwise spelt Clcve or Cleves] emigrated 
from England to Spurwink, in 1630 ; having by possibility, some 
prior acquaintance with the original proprietors of the " Plough- 
patent." The next year, he and Richard Tucker, with whom he 
had formed a connexion in business, removing from that place, 
became the earliest actual settlers upon Casco-neck, now the pen- 
insula of Portland. Pleased with the local situation and privi- 
leges of the place, he in behalf of his partner, and dependants 
presently laid claim to 1,600 acres of land, under a proclama- 
tion of James I. ; vt^ho offered 150 acres to every individual 
subject of his, that would emigrate at his own charge, and settle 
on any vacant or unoccupied parts of his American domains. But 
when he foimd, that the province of New-Somersetshire, which 
was assigned to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, embraced all the territory 
claimed by him (Cleaves), for himself and others, he took a 
a voyage to England, in 1636, possibly with Gov. William Gorges 
on his return home. While there he so ingratiated himself into 
the favor of the Lord-proprietor as to obtain from him, January 
27, 1637, a leasehold, — to run 2,000 years, of all the lands he 
claimed or desired to hold on the peninsula, between Fore-river 
and Presumpscot, including Mountjoy's Hill and Hog Island. 
He was also impowered to lease or grant, with reservation of quit- 
rents, to such as wished to become actual settlers, all the lands 
and Islands, if requested, " between Cape Elizabeth and the en- 
trance of Sagadahock river, and thence up into the land, 60 miles." 
On Cleaves' return he brought with him a commission from Gor- 
ges to six of the Massachusetts-Assistants, authorizing and re- 
questing them to exercise for a short period, a political superin- 
tendance over his Province. Still he suspected, the friends of 
Gorges were secretly his foes ; — a suspicion in which he thought 
he was fully confirmed, vphen he found himself not so much no- 
ticed, as to be named, in the Charter-administration of 1639-40, 
one of Gorges' Standing Council. Hence Mr. Cleaves again, in 
1642, visited England ; and probably used pursuasives with Sir 
Alexander Rigby, to purchase the Lygonian Patent ; for we find, 
as soon as he had taken an assignment of it, he appointed Mr. 
Cleaves deputy-president of the contemplated administration 
in his Province ; — both agreeing well in their episcopal senti- 
ments and republican politics. But the new office df Cleaves, 
necessarily brought him into collision with Gorges' adherents, 
and rendered it expedient to secure, if possible, the favor of Mas- 



APPENDIX. gg9 

sachusetts. For this purpose, he went to Boston in 1644, and 
sought, though in vain, her auxiliary interposition. Consequently, 
he and his coadjutors contended singlehanded, for jurisdiction, 
•with the rulers under Gorges, till March, 1646 ; when by a de- 
cision in England, Rigby's right and title were fully established. 
Cleaves then assumed the government ; had a Board of five or 
six Assistants ; called General Assemblies ; and held Courts, 
four or five times in the year. When acting judicially, he and 
the Assistants constituted the Supreme Court ; and the names of 
those who acted as such at dilierent times, were Henry Joscelyn, 
Robert Jordan, William Royall, Henry Watts, John Cossins, Pe- 
ter Hill and Robert Boothe. But as the commission of Mr. 
Cleaves was at an end, when his patron died, in August, 1650, — 
a fact of which he had full information, the next year, he waited 
about a twelve-month for instructions without receiving any, and 
then took another trip to England. There he had an interview 
with Sir Alexander's son ; yet he received no other orders from 
him, than to have an oversight of the Province, till commissions 
were sent to him. Of course, after his return, he resolutely re- 
sisted the jurisdictional claim of Massachusetts, till July, 1658 ; 
when he and the Lygonian Provincials thought it best to submit. 
Upon this change, he was appointed town-commissioner ; and in 
1663 and 4, represented the town of Falmouth in the General 
Court at Boston. He died about 1666, an aged man, leaving only 
one child, the wife of Michael Mitten, whose death occurred in 
1682. It fell to the lot of Mr. Cleaves, to encounter many ob- 
stacles and embarrassments, political and pecuniary, in the course 
of his pursuits ; and he died the possessor of little or no proper- 
ty. The traits of his character were such as to give it the sem- 
blance of contrarieties ; for while his foes accused him of an un- 
hallowed ambition and a litigious spirit ; others have set to his 
credit the merits of honor, energy, enterprize and perseverance. 

Edward and Richard Callicott [or Collicott] were both early in- 
habitants of Maine. Edward first settled in New-Hampshire as 
early as 1631 ; acted several years as Governor of the plantations 
at Dover; and in 1642, was a deputy in the General Court at Bos- 
ton. About the year, 1659, he removed to Saco. Richard was a 
man of more intelligence and distinction. He removed from Dor- 
chester, Massachusetts, to Falmouth, in 1657 or 8 ; and was re- 
turned a deputy or representative to the General Court, for that 
town in 1659, and in 1672 for Saco. Twenty years before he re- 

VoL. T. 72 



670 



APPENDIX. 

moved into the eastern country, he was a member of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery company ; and in 1674 he was commis- 
sioned by Massachusetts, with others, to establish the County of 
Devonshire ; and was appointed one of the special Commission- 
ers, to hold Courts there, in lieu of associates in other counties. 
His last place of residence was in Boston, where he died, in 1686. 

John Cossins [Cousin] born in England, A. D. 1596, resided on a 
beautiful Island, afterwards known by his name, situated near the 
mouth of Royall-river in North-Yarmouth ; which he purchased, 
in 1645, of Richard Vines, the agent of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. 
After residing upon it about thirty years, he was compelled to 
leave it, in 1675, at the opening of the first Indian war. He re- 
moved to York, where he died, in 1683, at an advanced age. While 
he dwelt upon the Island, he was one of Mr. Cleaves' Assistants 
in his government of Lygonia ; — a man much esteemed for his in- 
tegrity and diligence. 

Robert, John and Richard Cutts [or Cutt] three brothers, emi- 
grated from Wales, to the Isles of Shoals, as early as 1645. In 
a few years, however, Robert removed, first to Barbadoes, then to 
Great Island, New-Hampshire, and lastly, to Kittery-point, and 
his brothers to Portsmouth, all of whom became eminent men. 
From these three are descended all those of their name in Maine 
and New-Hampshire. Robert established a ship-yard, and carried 
on ship-building very extensively. Being strongly attached to 
the interests of Gorges, he accepted the office of Justice, in 1664 
and 5, both under Archdale and the king's commissioners. When 
he died, in 1672, he left a large estate to his son Richard, whose 
son of the same name, the grandson of Robert, born in 1693, and 
settled on Cutts' Island, in Kittery, represented his town, in 1734 
and seven other years, in the General Court, and in 1755, was 
elected a member of the Council — a seat which he held eight 
years. Col. Thomas Cutts, son of the latter, settled in Saco about 
1758 ; and by means of an extensive business in ship-building, 
navigation and merchandize, acquired a large estate. He convert- 
ed Indian Island, into a high state of culture, and erected upon it 
a spacious mansion-house, where he passed the closing years of 
his active life. EdAvard Cutts, probably his brother, after having 
represented Kittery, his native town, seven years in the Legisla- 
ture, was elected into the Council, in 1779, and succeeded Mr. 
Simpson, in his judicial capacity, both as Judge of the Common 
Pleas and Judge of Probate. He was also two years in the Sen- 
ate under the State-constitution. 



APPENDIX. 671 

George^ Humphrey and John Davie are all mentioned in the his- 
tory of Maine. The first commenced an early settlement at Wis- 
casset-point ; and in 1663, purchased a considerable territory 
there of the natives. His dwellinghouse was on the westerly 
bank of the river, in the midst of what is now the village. About 
the time Sheepscot-settlement was destroyed by the Indians, in 
1688, he retired to some older place, for more safety. Humphrey 
claimed Swan Island in the Kennebec, under an Indian deed, 
dated 1669. He was a man of some note ; being one of the Mas- 
sachusetts' Commissioners, appointed to establish and organize the 
county of Devon, or Devonshire, in 1674. That Island of his 
was afterwards claimed by Sir John Dnvir, a sergeant at law, who 
was graduated at Harvard College, in 1681, and at length became 
the inheritor of a large estate in England, from which he derived 
the title of baronet, and upon which he afterwards resided. 

John Davis, a man of very considerable abilities, natural and ac- 
quired, and of a military taste and turn of mind, was an inhabi- 
tant of York. Taught by experience, that a people's prosperity 
as well as security, essentially depended upon a methodical and 
energetic government, he espoused the coalescence of Maine with 
Massachusetts, in 1652 ; and took an interested part in promot- 
ing the union. At first he was licensed to keep the town ordina- 
ry; and yet during the whole of President Danforth's adminis- 
tration he was one of the Standing Council ; and also the succes- 
sor of Major Pendleton, Deputy-President of Maine, in 1684, and .^ 
had command of the militia. 

Sylvamis Davis first settled at Damariscotta, where he, in 1659 
and 1665, purchased considerable lands of three Indian Sagamores. 
Afterwards, when Clark and Lake had formed an establishment on 
Arrowsick, he removed to that Island, and became their general 
agent. The place exhibited a flourishing appearance, till the In- 
dian massacre, August 14, 1676 ; when he was severely wounded 
and hardly escaped with his life. Within a year or two after 
peace, he settled on Casco-Neck, Falmouth, and took from Pres- 
ident Danforth, a grant of Little Gebeag, and from the town-trus- 
tees, a sectional assignment of lots. He was in general highly 
esteemed; yet his eflbrts in 1687-8, under Andros' administration, 
to persuade the people to take from the Governor, new patents of 
their lands, deducted much from his popularity — as it unfolded a 
tint of the parasite. Yet in 1690, he had command of Fort Loyal, 
when the French and Indians, after a most obstinate siege, com- 



672 APPENDIX. 

pelled him to surrender it, and to see every article of capitulation 
violated, and most of the garrison put to death. He was himself 
carried to Canada and detained in captivity more than four months. 
His subsequent residence was in Boston. Being a landholder in 
the province of Sagadahock, and a man of considerable distinc- 
tion, he found his name inserted in the Charter of William and 
Mary, as one of the Council ; and by two subsequent elections, 
he was chosen to fill the same office. He died, in 1703, without 
issue ; leaving his estate to his wife and the daughters of his 
friend, James English. — See Coll. Mass. His. Soc. 3 series, i. vol 
p. 101—102. 

Henry Donnel, an inhabitant of York, removed from that town, 
about 1658, to Jewel's Island, in Casco-bay, on which he resided 
and had a fishing station, till the commencement of the second 
Indian war, in 1688. Unable to dwell there longer in safety, he 
returned to his former residence. His sons were Henry and Sam- 
uel, — the latter was one of the Councillors named for Maine, in 
the Province-charter of 1691, and subsequently received two elec- 
tions to the same place. 

Rev. Shubael Dummer,* a graduate of Harvard College, in 1656, 
was ordained at York, to the pastoral office, in 1673 ; being the 
first settled minister of that town. His wife was the daughter of 
Edward Rishworth, Esq., and their dwellinghouse was eastward 
of the present village, about thirty rods from the seashore. Mr. 
Dummer was a serious godly man, devoted to his charge, and if 
not eloquent, he was a sound and interesting preacher. At the 
time of his settlement, so small in number were his brethren in 
the ministry, that he of necessity preached his own ordination 
sermon. His faithful labors and ardent zeal for his people's good, 
through a period of nineteen years, mutually endeared them to 
each other, and rendered the circumstances of their final separa- 
tion highly painful. For on the fatal morning of Feb. 5, 1692, 
when the Indians made an assault upon the town, burning, killing 
and plundering, he was shot dead at his own door. His lovely 
and excellent wife, who was carried into captivity, soon died of 
suffering and grief. Mr. Dummer was in the 56th or 7th year of 

" His father was Richard Dummer of Newbury, born 1591 , came to New- 
England in 1()32, hvetl first in Roxbury and was an Assistant 1640 and 1645; 
and then removed to the former place. His sons were Shubael, Jeremiah, 
Richard, and William who was father of Liontenant-Governor, William Dum- 
mer. Shubael was born February 17, lOuG ; commenced preaching at York in 
1662 



APPENDIX. 

his age ; — and according to Doct. Mather, his heart was touched, 
like the prophet's lips, as with 'a Vne coal from the altar.' 

Thomas Danfortii, bom at Franilino-ham in Suflolk, England, 
A. D. 1622, emigrated with his father, Nicholas Danforth, to New- 
England, in 1634 and settled in Cambridge. He was admitted 
freeman in 1643; chosen a representative of his town in 1657-8, 
an Assistant first in 1659, afterwards being a member of the Board 
20 years. He was Deputy-governor from 1679 to 1G86, inclusive, 
and again after the revolution, he filled the same office three years, 
and once he came within CI votes of being elected governor. He 
was a man of unquestionable integrity and great firmness ; a high- 
toned republican of the old school ; and acted a distinguished part 
in public aflfairs. Subsequently to the purchase of Maine, he was 
appointed by the General Court of Massachusetts, or rather by 
the Board of Assistants, May 11, 1681, (new style) the President 
of the Province, an oflice he filled till the Charter of William and 
Mary was received ; except during the interruptions, occasioned 
by the short administration of Dudley and Andros. Though his 
established residence was in Cambridge, he repaired frequently to 
the Province, while at the head of its government ; and sometimes 
continued his visit for weeks. He was a great favorite of the 
people and a coadjutor with Gookin, Cooke and others in opposing 
the acts of trade and in vindicating chartered rights, against every 
encroachment of arbitrary power. Hence he rendered himself 
obnoxious to the British politicians, and consequently, his name 
was not allowed to be inserted in the Province-charter, (in 1691,) 
as one of the Council. But in the organization of government, 
he was appointed one of the Judges on the Supreme Bench 
— a seat he filled till his death, Nov. 5, 1699, aged 77 years. In 
evidence of his intelligence and correct judgment, he pointedly 
condemned the proceedings of the Courts against witchcraft, as. 
the offspring of delusion. He had 12 children, two of whom 
were sons, viz. Samuel, graduated at Harvard College, 1671, a 
distinguished scholar, who died at London, in Dec. 1676, un- 
married ; and Jonathan, who was graduated at the same College,, 
1679, and died in 1682, in whom the male line became extinct.. 

Giles Elbridge was co-proprietor with Robert Aldsworth, alder- 
man of the city — Bristol, England, in their patent of Pemaquid,, 
obtained Feb. 20, 1631. Their particular attention was first turned 
towards this section of country probably by the views given of it 
by the celebrated adventurer, Capt. John Smith. Having, in 1625, 



673 



674 



APPENDIX. 

purchased Monliegan, tliey determined now to improte and enlarge 
the infant settlements, both on the Island and within the limits of 
their new patent ; and give the planters an established form of 
civil government. But they labored under a mistake not uncom- 
mon in those days, which was, to imagine they could bring into 
existence a flourishing plantation or colony in the wilderness, with- 
out residing upon it, or even visiting it ; for neither of the pa- 
tentees ever so much as saw this country. In a few years, 
Aldsworth died, when the Avhole patent enured to Elbridge by 
survivorship ; and hence his sons, John in the first instance, and 
then Thomas, became sole proprietors of it. The former took it by 
descent and the latter by his brother's will of Sept. 11, 1646 ; 
after which he came over to Pemaqiiid, dwelt there several years ; 
and at length, by two assignments, dated Feb. 1, 1651, and Sept. 3, 

1657, he conveyed away the whole patent. Still he resided there ; 
and in 1665, came into the court of the king's commissioners and 
swore allegiance to the Duke of York, as proprietary of Sagada- 
hock. The property afterwards passing through several hands, 
ultimately rested in the wife of Shem Drowne, and hence the 
origin of the '■^ Droivne Claim.'''' While Thomas Elbridge was a 
resident at Pemaquid, he made grants of land ; held courts, tried 
causes ; and punished offences. But still the government exercis- 
ed or formed by him was probably little more than a conservation 
of the peace. 

Richard Foxwell removed from Scituate and settled at Blue-point 
in Scarborough, A. D. 1636, when he was f51 years of age. His 
wife was the daughter of Richard Bonighton. Though he was not 
a man of very much note, he was well esteemed ; he had been a 
" merchant;" and in 1648 his town sent him a deputy to the 
General Assembly of Lygonia. He died in 1677, leaving eight 
children. 

Nicholas and Charles Frost, father and son, dwelt at Sturgeon- 
creek in Kittery ; the former being one of the early settlers of that 
place ; and a constable under the Charter-government of Gorges. 
He lived till the year 1663. — Charles was one of the most eminent 
and public spirited men of that age, within the Province, In 

1658, and subsequently, he was the representative of his town, 
five years, in the General Court at Boston ; he was a member of 
the Provincial Council, during the whole of President Danforth's 
administration ; he had also command of the Yorkshire Regiment 
of militia ; and at the time he was shot by the Indians, July 4, 



APPENDIX. 

1697, he held a seat in the Council and upon the Bench of the 
Common Pleas. His death was very deeply lamented ; as it oc- 
curred in the height of his usefuhiess and fame, and at a time when 
his services were greatly needed. 

Roger Garde was an early inhabitant of Agamenticus. Having 
some knowledge of letters and a good acquaintance with penman- 
ship, he was appointed in 1640, Provincial Register under the 
charter-government of Gorges ; elected mayor of the city, Gor- 
geana; and in 1644, promoted to a scat in the Council. But being 
a warm adherent to the rights and interest of the Lord-proprietor, 
and a loe to the claim of Massachusetts ; he was constrained to 
find amid the political changes of his time, that his popularity 
was hardly commensurate with his life. 

Thomas Gardiner^ reputed to have been a very worthy man, 
was an early settler at Pemaquid. In 1665, he was appointed by 
the king's commissioners, one of the magistrates for the Duke's 
province ; and in 1674, when Devonshire was established by 
Massachusetts, he was appointed to the same office and also to 
the command of the militia, in the new county. 

Sir Ferdinando, Robert, Willianij Thomas, and a second Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, are all entitled to notice in the early settlement 
of this State. The first, through a period of forty years, greatly 
interested himself in the discovery, colonization and other affairs 
of this Eastern Country ; — a biographical sketch of whose char- 
acter appears in the preceding History. — Robert, his son, took 
from the Plymouth Council, Dec. 13, 1622, a patent of lands, 30 
miles by 10, about Cape Anne ; and in September of the next 
year, came with several passengers and families to begin a planta- 
tion. He had also a commission, as Governor and Lieutenant Gen- 
eral of New-England; — and the habitancy he selected, was at 
Weymouth. But this, the primary essay to establish a general 
government, met with no success ; and he returned to England at 
the end of one year. — l^^lliam Gorges, a nephew of Sir Ferdinan- 
do, is said by one to have come over first, in 1624, a companion 
of Col. Francis Norton — and to have been furnished with " divers 
workmen for the building of mills and houses and with all things 
necessary for a settlement,'' at Agamenticus ; while another ac- 
count says, it was Ferdinando, the proprietor's grandson, who came 
over with Norton. However this may be — William, called Capt. 
Gorges, was appointed Governor of New-Somersetshire, by his 
uncle in 1635, soon after the 12 provinces were formed — out of 



675 



676 



APPENDIX. 

the Grand Patent, and he had taken an assignment. He came 
over early the next spring, and immediately proceeded to measures 
for the government of the Province. He appointed a Council, held 
courts at Saco, and exercised an official jurisdiction, about two 
years before his return. Chalmer says, " he ruled for some years, 
a few traders and fishermen, with a good sense, equal to the im- 
portance of the trust." — Thomas Gorges^ the cousin of Sir Fer- 
dinando, arrived in the Province of Maine during the spring of 
1640 ; bringing with him from the Lord-proprietor a commission 
of Deputy-governor. He opened his court at Saco, which had reg- 
ular sessions ; — giving to his administration the characteristics of 
energy, justice and considerable system. He was a man of pure 
principles, and very handsome abilities, — grave in his deportment 
and by profession a lawyer ; having pursued and finished his course 
of legal studies at the Inns of Court in Westminster. He return- 
ed home in 1643, when his commission expired, though the Lord- 
proprietor gave him some large tracts of land, and pressed upon 
him every motive, to abide longer time in the Province. — Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, Esq. was the son of John Gorges and grandson of 
the Lord-proprietor. It is said by two writers, that he came 
over with Col. Norton in 1624, to settle Agamenticus, with " a 
patent of 12,090 acres on the east side and 12,000 to the west 
side of the river ; and that they had hopes of a happy success." 
If he did visit this country his abode here was short. Certainly, to 
him at length, descended the whole provincial patent of Maine ; 
about which he had a controversy with Massachusetts, from 1652 
to 1677 ; w^ien he sold the Avhole to her for £1,250 sterling. 
His grandfather's History of America painted to the life, enlarged 
by him and published in 1658, contains many original, rare and 
curious facts, which will be ever precious to the antiquarian. 

Walter Gendell, dwelt at Spurwink, [Cape Elizabeth,] as early as 
1666. He was a great fur-trader with the Indians, and supposed 
he had secured their friendship and confidence. But in 1676, 
being the s'econd year of king Philip's war, they made him pris- 
oner at Richmond Island, and carried him to Penobscot ; where 
in a few months, he was set at liberty, under Mugg's treaty, and 
conveyed to Boston by Capt. More. Being convicted of having 
had a treacherous intercourse with the Natives, he was sentenced 
to forfeit his lands, to pay costs of prosecution, to rim the " gaunt- 
let" through the military companies of that town ; and then to 
depart the colony. — He returned into Maine ; and it appears, he 



APPENDIX. 

was afterwards restored to all he had lost ; for in 1680, he was 
one of the Falmouth-commissioners ; in 16S3, a superintendant of 
Fort Loyal ; and the next year, a deputy from that town to the 
General Assembly, under the administration of President Dan- 
forth. He was also one of the trustees, in the re-grant or revival 
of North- Y^arraouth ; at which place he was killed by the Indians, 
in August, 1688, being among the very first that fell, in the sec- 
ond Indian war. He left no child but some property. 

Edward Godfrey^ came over about the year, 1629, and took from 
Sir Ferdinando Gorges, John Mason, and their associates, an 
agency for the management of their affairs at the Piscataqua. 
Captivated with the situation of Agamenticus-plantation, begun 
by his friends, Col. Norton and young Ferdinando Gorges, he con- 
cluded to settle there ; and it is said, he built one of the first 
framed houses, ever erected in the place. He became interested 
in two considerable tracts of land in the vicinity ; — one was a 
grant on the north side of Agamenticiis-rivcr, which Sir Ferdi- 
nando made, Dec. 1, 1631, to him and three associates, — William 
Hooke, his neighbor, Samuel Maverick, of Noddle's Island, and 
William Jeff'eries, of Weymouth ; the other was a lease-hold of 
1,500 acres, on the northerly side of Cape Neddock Creek, which 
Gorges granted, in 1638, to Mr. Godfrey, his'son Oliver and Rich- 
ard Rowe, conditioned to pay an annual quitrent of 2s. on every 
one hundred acre lot. Mr. Godfrey was a man of zeal and perse- 
verance in every enterprize he undertook ; and such was his 
character and conduct, — such his untiring efforts to promote the 
settlement and best interests of this plantation — and so much was 
he a favorite of the Lord-proprietor, as to secure entirely his con- 
fidence and esteem, and merit the honor of being appointed by 
him, in 1640, an original member of his Charter-council. In 
fact, he had previously belonged to the board of Assistants under 
William Gorges ; and in 1642, he was Mayor of the city Gorge- 
ana. He manfully resisted Col. Rigby's claim to Lygonia till 
there was a decision in his favor ; after which, he succeeded Mr. 
Vines, in 1646, as Governor of what remained to Sir Ferdinando — 
an office which he filled, with credit to himself, for several years. 
During a part of that period, commencing with 1649, when it 
was understood that John Gorges, the heir to the Province, was 
disinclined to assume the government of it, the inhabitants formed 
a " Combination," under the Charter, and annually elected Mr. 
Godfrey, Governor, by voting at town meeting, in manner of elec- 

VoL. I. 73 



677 



678 



APPENDIX. 

tions, pursued by the freemen of Massachusetts. With great spirit, 
he opposed the jurisdictional claim, which that Colony raised to 
Maine, till Kittery and Agamenticus were induced to submit, in 
1652 ; — then he yielded to constraint and took the oath of allegi- 
ance, to her government. Disposed still to conciliate him and his 
partisans, her commissioners immediately appointed him town and 
county commissioner ; and the next year, the provincials elected 
him senior associate upon the bench of the county-court. He died 
about the year, 1661 or 2, highly esteemed for his firmness intel- 
ligence and integrity. 

Peter and Joseph Hill, have been noticed in the early history of 
this State, The former, who resided in Saco, was a deputy to the 
General Assembly of Lygonia, in 1648; and a short time, one of 
Mr. Cleaves' Assistants. Nevertheless, he submitted to Massa- 
chusetts, in 1653, and his useful life was prolonged to the year, 
1667. — Joseph Hill, his grandson, whose father's name was Roger, 
was born, in 1671, married Joseph Bowles' daughter of Wells, 
and in 1689, settled in that town. Still, when Fort Mary, at 
Saco, was erected, in 1693, he was appointed one of the two su- 
perintendants. He was a brave man ; and being commander of 
the militia-company, in Wells, was probably singled out by the 
enemy, in their attack upon the place, in August, 1703 ; for he 
was, at that time, taken and carried a captive to Canada. Two 
years afterwards, he was sent by the Governor of that province, 
to effect an exchange of prisoners ; who reported on his return 
home, that there were "with the French 114 captives, besides 
70 with the Indians." His grandson, Joseph Hill, of the same 
town, was 29 years a member of the Council, and 13, a judge of 
the Common Pleas. 

William and Francis Hooke, [or Hook] were probably kindreds, 
though it is not ascertained in what degree. The former, an em- 
igrant from Bristol in England, became associated with Edward 
Godfrey, in a purchase made at Agamenticus, A. D.. 1631, and 
finally settled there. He was one of the first Charter-councillors 
under Gorges, when the administration was framed, in 1640; but 
he never took his seat at the Board. Marrying about that time 
the widow of Capt. Walter Norton, he removed to Salisbuiy, 
Mass. from which was sent a deputy to the General Court, in 
1643 and 7, and where he died, in 1654; leaving a widow with- 
out any children ; Mr. Winthrop speaks of him, as ' a godly gerv- 
tleman.' 



APPENDIX. 579 

Francis Hooke is first iotroduced to us as a pious man and preacher 
of the gospel. He selected his place of abode at Winter-harbor, 
in Saco, where mention is made of him in 1660. Inflexibly at- 
tached as he was, to the interests of Gorges, in belief that his right 
was well-founded, he was appointed a Justice, both under Arch- 
dale in 1663-4, and by the king's Commissioners in 1665. For 
a period, his acceptance of these offices, in connexion with his 
political sentiments, might have rendered him unpopular among 
the partizans of Massachusetts ; yet so entirely had he regained 
the public esteem in 1680, as to be appointed first County-treasu- 
rer under Pres. Danforth's administration, and a member of the 
Council during the whole period of his presidency. He seems to 
have had the singular good fortune of a very few public men, 
that is — to be popular with all parties. For in 1692 and 3, he 
was a member of the Province-council under the Charter of 
William and Mary, a judge of Probate two years, and also a judge 
upon the bench of the Common Pleas. He removed to Kittery 
before the commencement of the 2d Indian war, where he died 
in January 1695. In a word, such was Francis Hooke, that none 
other at that age in the Province was more public spirited and 
highly useful — none better beloved. 

Hutchinson was a distinguished name in Massachusetts and this 
State, from the early settlement of the country, to the war of the 
Revolution. William Hutchinson was an emigrant to Boston, as 
early as 1634, and the husband of the famous Anne Hutchinson,* 
the " Antinomian." He died in 1642; and his son Edward, a 
brave military officer, lost his life in a battle with the Indians in 
King Philip's war. Actuated by a spirit of speculation or perhaps 
thoughts of removal, the same Edward, in 1673, two years before 
his death, purchased of William Phillips of Saco, considerable tracts 
of land, on the westerly side of the river in that place ; at the same 
time owning mills at Newichawannock, burnt two years afterwards 
by the Indians. In 1676, Mr. Phillips distributed among his 
children and donees, the extensive territory, which he had pur- 
chased of the Sagamores, several years before, embracing the 
present Sandford, Alfred and Waterborough ; when one share be- 
came the property of Elisha Hutchinson''s wife, who was Mrs. 
Phillips' daughter, by a former husband, John Sandford, Esquire, 

* After her husband's death, she removed to the Dutch Country, (N. T.) ; 
and in 1643, she and all her family, except one daughter, being 16 persona, 
were killed by the Indians. 



680 



APPENDIX. 

of Rhode Island. The said Elisha, grandson of the ahove Wil- 
liam, and son of Edward, was a very distinguished man, represen- 
tative of Boston, in 1680 — 3 ; Assistant, in 1684, 6 and 6; Chief- 
commander of the Massachusetts' militia, a charter-member of 
the Council in 1692 ; and being a freeholder in Maine, in right 
of his wife, and perhaps otherwise, he was elected for that prov- 
ince, to a seat at the same Board two successive years, 1708 and 9. 
He died, in 1717, at the age of 78. His son Thomas^ who died, 
in Dec. 1739, was father of the Governor* and Historian of 
Massachusetts. — Eliakim Hutchinson, another son of Edward, seems 
to have inherited his father's estate at Saco ; in virtue of which 
as a prerequisite qualification, required by Charter, he was chosen 
for Maine, into the Council, in 1695 ; receiving in all 21 elections. 
He died in 1718, in the 77th year of his age. His son, Edward 
Hutchinson^ was elected a member of the Board for the same Prov- 
ince, in 1725-6 ; being a landholder, either as heir or devisee of 
the Saco estate, which, however, he sold in 1750, to a Mr. Allen 
for ie 1,200. 

George Ingersol, born in 1618, was the son of Richard Ingersol, 
who emigrated in 1629, from Bedfordshire, England, to Salem, 
Massachusetts. The residence of George at Back-cove, Falmouth, 
in 1657, is the first notice of him recollected. His military tal- 
ents and taste, procured his promotion, in 1668, to the command 
of the town-militia company, — an office he filled with much rep- 
utation to himself, through the first Indian war. In 1683 and 5, 
he was sent by his town, a representative to the General Assem- 
bly, under President Danforth's administration ; but before the 
second Indian war, he removed to Salem, where he died, in 1694; 
leaving two sons, — George, who was Shipwrecked, and Samuel, 
who settled at Stroudwater. 

Robert Jordan^ a young episcopal clergyman, emigrated from the 
west of England, in 1640, and settled at Spurwink. He was, 
without doubt, a man of talents and considerable learning. In a 
short time, he married at that place, Sarah, the only daughter of 
John Winter; in the settlement of whose estate, about the years, 
1647 and 8, he became the proprietor of • large landed estate. 
Both his religious and political sentiments, made him a great 
friend to the interests of Gorges ; and of course, as great a foe to 

* Gov. Thomas Hutchinson, had three sons, Thomas, Elisha and William 
Sandford, who were graduated at Harvard College, 1758, 17C2, and 1770.— See 
Farmer's Genealogies. 



APPENDIX. 681 

Massachusetts. But he manifested no great opposition to the claim 
of Col. Rigby; and therefore, after it was decided, in March, 1647, 
that the Plough Patent in Lygonia belonged to him, and an ad- 
ministration of government was about to be formed by Mr. 
Cleaves, Jordan was appointed one of his Assistants, or a mem- 
ber of his Council ; and continued to hold the place, till the ter- 
mination of Rigby's jurisdictional claim. Yet even at that time, 
especially in 1653-4, when Massachusetts asserted her right by 
Charter to embrace Lygonia, within her jurisdiction ; his resist- 
ance of her claim was so violent, as to render him obnoxious to 
prosecutions ; and several presentments were threatened against 
him. Unrestrained and unawed, however, by these measures, he 
was finally arrested in 1657, and carried to Boston for trial ; where 
he barely escaped penance, by a wise and timely submission. 
Though he afterwards, in 1659, and two following years, was 
elected to the otfice of an Associate, in the County-court ; his 
obstinacy was by no means subdued; for in 1664-5, he accepted 
commissions of the peace, both from John Archdale and the 
king's commissioners, and exerted himself to maintain the new- 
established authorities against Massachusetts. To such a height 
was his opposition carried, when she resumed the jurisdiction of 
Maine, in 1668, that the Grand-jury of Yorkshire Court, in that year, 
returned several indictments against him for breaches of his alle- 
giance and contempts of her authority. Besides these difficul- 
ties, he hardly escaped, in 1675, the savage tommahawk ; his 
dwellinghouse being laid in ashes, by the Indians, soon after he 
left it. He first removed to Great Island, now Newcastle, at the 
mouth of the Piscataqua, and thence to Portsmouth, where he 
died, in 1678, aged 68 years. Though he retained his mental 
faculties to the last, he lost so entirely the use of his hands in 
the latter part of his life, that he became wholly unable to write. 
He sustained a fair moral character ; was strongly attached to the 
Episcopal liturgy; and for thirty years, he occasionally delivered 
religious discourses, and administered the christian ordinances, 
according to the rites of his sacerdotal order. Still he was evi- 
dently much better fitted and qualified for secular business than 
for the ministry — a man rather austere than courtly — rather re- 
spected than beloved. To his wife and six surviving sons, he left 
a large real estate, which was situated in Spurwink, Purpoodic 
and Scarborough. His sou, Dominicus, who married Ralph Tris- 
tram's daughter of Saco, lived in a garrison-house, on the old 



^32 APPENDIX. 

estate at Spurwink. At a time in the 2d Indian war, when it 
was furiously besieged, a savage bawled out, you no ^scape, Do- 
minicus, here be ten hundred Indian : — 1 d'n'*t care, said he, if there 
be ten thousand. Alterwards, when danger was little apprehended, 
a large party entered his house, and as one began to talk, another 
buried his hatchet in Jordan's head, and exclaimed, ^Aer^?, Domin- 
icus, nnc kill 'em ten thousand Indian. He being thus dispatched, 
his family were carried captives to Canada. A young daughter, 
Mary Ann, whom her master renamed Arabella, married a French- 
man at Trois Revieres, and never returned. Her brother Domini- 
cus, when 13 years of age, escaped from captivity, and lived till 
1749. Rish worth and Samuel Jordan, were from the same stock. 
Henri/ Josceli/n came over about the year 1634, in the interest 
of Capt. John Mason, with an intent to settle at Piscataqua. But 
being thwarted in his expectations, by that gentleman's death, he 
proceeded next year to Scarboro', and took up his abode at Black- 
point. At the same time, he was appointed by William Gorges, 
one of his Assistants ; and in 1G39-40, he was honored by Sir 
Ferdinando, with a seat at the board of his Charter-council. So 
good was his standing, that on the departure of Mr. Vines, in 
1645, he was Deputy-governor the remainder of the year. He 
was an opponent of Col. Rigby ; yet when he found Lygonia 
was assigned to him and himself within its limits, he accepted 
the office of Assistant under Mr. Cleaves ; and in another change, 
when Scarboro' submitted to Massachusetts in 1658, he was 
chosen an Associate, and in 1660, was returned by that town and 
Falmouth, a Deputy to the Gen. Court at Boston. Still, as often 
as occasion occurred, he espoused the provincial rights of Gorges ; 
and therefore, at the time the king's Commissioners undertook to 
establish a form of government for Maine and Sagadahock, in 
1665, he accepted the office of Senior Justice, for both provinces. 
But so great after this was his variance with Massachusetts, that 
on her resuming the government of Maine, in 1668, he retired in 
disgust to Pemaquid. Here he resided till the first Indian war, 
in 1675, when he removed to Plymouth, where he passed the 
last days of his life. He left one son, of the same christian 
name, who was afterwards the father of 13 children. Mr. Jos- 
celyn, whose wife was the relict of Capt. Cammock, removed to 
Prout's Neck in Scarboro', after the marriage, and resided their 
25 years before his removal to Pamaquid. Sometime prior to his 
leaving Prout's Neck, he being embarrassed, assigned his estate 



APPENDIX. 633 

to Joshua Scottow of Boston, in discharge of his debts. Mr. 
Joscelyn manifestly lived, in troublous times, — a man entitled to 
far more respect than his adversaries were willing to allow him. 
His brother, John Joscelyn, resided with him at Prout's Neck, the 
greater part of a year; and during that time, he collected many 
valuable facts, which appear iu the narrative of his " Voyages," 
afterwards published. 

Christopher Lawson, born 16 IG, was one among others, who con- 
sidered himself persecuted by the government of Massachusetts. 
Therefore he left Exeter, N. H. with Rev. John Wheelwright, 
in 1643, and after a short stay at Wells, proceeded to Sagadahock. 
Pleased with the situation of the lands northward of Woolwich, 
he purchased of the Indians, 1649, a large tract in that vicinity, 
a part of which he assigned in 1653, to Thomas Clark and Biby 
Lake. Major Clark was a man of great enterprize and of so 
much note as to be appointed one of the commissioners to estab- 
lish Devonshire, in 1674. Capt. Thomas Lake was killed at 
Arrowsick by the Indians, in August, 1676. In respect to Law- 
son, his hostility to Massachusetts, and her pretended eastern 
claims, rather increased than abated ; and he hesitated not to 
pronounce her a persecutor and usurper. Hence, he was arrested 
and tried, in 1669, on a charge of contempt for her courts and 
authority, and sentenced to set an hour in the stocks. 

Richard Lender, a resident freeholder at Newichawannock, in 
possession of Capt. John Mason's lands, was so highly esteemed 
by the people as to receive six elections into the board of Assistants 
under Gov. Godfrey's administration, anterior to its termination in 
1652 ; yet no mention of him is made afterwards. Probably his 
opposition to Massachusetts at that time, might have cost him the 
loss of her favor and his own popularity. 

Thomas Lewis, co-proprietor with Richard Bonighton, of the 
ancient patent on the eastern side of the river Saco, came into the 
country before 1630 and settled at Winter-harbor. He died in 
1638 ; and Francis Robinson was the executor of his will. He 
was one of William Gorges' Council and much esteemed for his 
virtues. His daughter married James Gibbins, who removed from 
Saco to Kittery in 1642, where he died in 1683. 

Michael Mitten [Mitton] came over probably with Mr. Cleaves, 
when he returned from England, in 1637; and settled on Casco- 
neck. His wife was Cleaves' only child, and his children were 
daughters, the wives of Anthony and Thomas Bracket, Thaddeus 
Clark and James Andrews. His character for honor and chastity 



684 



APPENDIX. 

bears indelible stains ; for he seduced, in his own house, Richard 
Martin's daughter, who was entrusted to his protection ; and who 
after retiring to Boston, endeavored to secrete her shame by taking 
her infant's life, — a crime for which she, in 1647, died on the 
scaffold. 

Arthur Macworth settled in 1632, on the eastern side of Pre- 
sumpscot-river, and southerly of the Clapboard Islands, at a place 
since called, " Mackey's point." His wife was the relict of Sam- 
uel Andrews, whose daughter married Francis Neal of Falmouth. 
He was an Assistant, or Magistrate, in 1645, under the administra- 
tion of Governor Vines ; — having ten years previously, received 
from him a deed of his lands, and been himself, to some extent, an 
agent of Sir Ferdinando. He was opposed to Col. Rigby ; and 
consequently Cleaves would not admit him into his council. He 
died in 1657. 

Nicholas Manning probably resided at Damariscotta. In 1688, 
when Sir Edmund Andros, assumed the exercise of government, 
over the duke's province of Sagadahock, he appointed Manning 
presiding sole magistrate or senior justice within the ducal ju- 
risdiction, provided Henry Joscelyn was not present. Mr. Man- 
ning was moreover directed to lay out or survey a road from Pem- 
aquid, through New-Dartmouth to Kennebec. But a second 
Indian war soon terminated all his official services, and occasioned 
his withdrawal to a place of more safety. 

Rev. Samuel Moody was born at Newbury, January 4, 1676, 
graduated at Harvard in 1697, and settled in the ministry at York 
in December, 1700. — His grandfather, William, emigrated from 
Wales to Newbury as early as 1634, and had three sons, Joshua, 
Samuel, and Caleb. Joshua, born in England, was the first min- 
ister of Portsmouth ; and Caleb's son, Samuel, first above men- 
tioned, was the second ordained minister of York. Rev. Joseph 
Moody, his son, settled in 1732, over the 2d Church in York, was 
the father of the celebrated master Samuel Moody, who was 30 
years preceptor of Dummer Academy. The pious minister of York 
died in 1747 — the epitaph on whose grave-stone is in these 
words ; — " Here lies the body of the Rev. Samuel Moody, A. M. 
" the zealous, faithful and successful pastor of the first Church of 
" Christ in York." — [See, in Doct. Allenh Biog. Diet, well written 
notices of Rev. Messrs. Joshua and Samuel Moody.'] 

George Mountjoy, (" or Munjoy,") bom in 1626, was the son of 
John Mountjoy, an emigrant from Abbotsham, in Devonshire, Eng- 



APPENDIX. 685 

land. George removed from Boston to Falmouth, in 1G59, and 
located his dwellinghouse on the north-easterly part of Casco- 
neck, below the burying-place j though he owned the high-grounds 
above it, called "Mountjoy's Hill." He is reputed to have been 
a man of critical observation and correct habits, of undisputed 
enterprize, considerable education and some wealth. He was one 
of the most celebrated surveyors of lands and draftsmen in his 
time. In 1664, he was a County-associate under Massachusetts; 
and yet he was appointed, the next year, by the king's Commis- 
ers, one of their Justices for Maine. At his death, in 1680, he 
left several children, and a wife, who was the daughter of John 
Phillips, Boston. 

Walter and Francis Neale, [orNeal] came early into this country, 
from England ; and though they are of the same surname, they 
are not known to be kindred. Walter arrived at Piscataqua, in 
the spring of 1630, the commissioned agent of both Gorges and 
Mason, in all their plantation affairs ; and the next year, we find, 
he "was styled the Governor of Piscataqua." He made territo- 
rial grants in Kittery as well as in Portsmouth, and put Mr. Brad- 
shaw in possession of a large tract at Spurwink, granted by the 
Plymouth Council, — afterwards purchased by Richard Tucker, the 
first settler. He left for England, in August, 1633. — Francis 
Neale, resided on the easterly side of the Presumpscot, in Fal- 
mouth, as early as 1658. He was town-commissioner several 
years ; one of John Archdale's Justices in 1664 ; an associate 
under Massachusetts, in 1668, and the two following years ; and 
in 1670, deputy of his town to the General Court at Boston. 

John Oldham arrived at Plymouth, in July, 1623, with a family 
of ten persons and resided successively at that place, at Hull and 
at Cape Anne, and finally settled at Watertown. Revisiting Eng- 
land, he was induced to unite with Richard Vines, in 1630, and 
take a joint patent of lands on the western side of the Saco. For 
reasons unexplained, he never resided upon it, but resigned it 
entirely to his co-proprietor. In his trade with the Indians, which 
was extensive, he in some way so affronted them that the Pequods, 
in 1636 killed him, at Block Island, southerly of Newport — a 
murder, which with other wrongs of theirs, occasioned a war, and 
the overthrow of the tribe. 

John Parker, was the earliest permanent settler on the Island 
Erascohegan, since called by his name, lying in the mouth of the 

Vol. I. 74 



686 APPENDIX. 

river Sagadahock. He dwelt upon it, during" the winter 1629-30, 
and purchased it of a Sagamore, in 1643. When a government 
was instituted at Kennebec, in 1654, by Thomas Prince, under 
authority from Plymouth-colony ; Mr. Parker, desirous of estab- 
lished order and protection, took the oath of allegiance, though 
doubting, if her jurisdiction extended so far as to embrace his 
Island. He died before the first Indian war; and his descendants 
have held the lands under the ancestral purchase of the Natives. 

Bryan Pendleton^ born 1599, came over to New-England early, 
and settled in Watertown, prior to 1634; which he represent- 
ed in the General Court, six years before 1648. In the mean-time, 
he was a member of the ancient Artillery company in Boston, and 
captain of the Militia. He removed to Portsmouth about, the 
year 1650-1 ; and in 1652, he was one of the Massachusetts com- 
missioners appointed to take the submission of Maine. While re- 
siding at Portsmouth, he was engaged in commerce and acquired 
a considerable estate ; and also represented that town in the Gen- 
eral Court at Boston, 5 years. In 1658, he purchased 200 acres 
of land at the Neck, near Winter Harbor in Saco, and settled upon 
it, in 1665. His political and military knowledge with good nat- 
ural abilities, immediately gave him great weight of character 
among his new acquaintances ; and therefore, in 1667, " under the 
" government of the king's commissioners, he was elected a burgess, 
" to attend the General Court of the Province." The same year, 
under the new governmental order of affairs, he and two others 
were chosen by the town, " the judges of small causes under ten 
pounds." Nevertheless being always well affected towards Mas- 
sachusetts, especially when her commissioners resumed the gov- 
ernment of Maine, he was appointed by them one of the associ- 
ates and Sergeant-major of the military, that is. Major-command- 
ant of the Yorkshire Militia. He was also one of the county- 
associates for several years. However, for the sake of more safe- 
ty, he lived in Portsmouth, during the first Indian war ; and after- 
wards, on his return to Saco, he appears to have been one of the 
most distinguished men in the Province. For under the adminis- 
tration of President Danforth, he was appointed, in 1680, senior 
member of his Council and Deputy-president, — offices holden by 
him at the time of his death, which occurred the following year. 
He left two children, James, who removed from Portsmouth to Ston- 
ington, Connecticut, about the time of his father's death, and was 
the father of four sons and one daughter. She married, in 1665, 



APPENDIX. 

Rev. Seth Fletcher, then the minister of Wells, who was in six or 
seven years afterwards, reinstalled at Saco. Their only child 
was Pendleton Fletcher^ whom his grandfather adopted, about 
1670, when 13 or 14 years old ; giving him a large estate, of 
which he took possession on coming of lawful age. What ren- 
dered him distinguished was his misfortunes ; for he was taken 
captive four times by the Indians; when he died in 1747, he 
left six sons, whose descendants are spread over the country. 

William Prpperell, a native of Cornwall, England, emigrated to 
the Isles of Shoals, in 1676, where he lived upwards of 20 years, 
and carried on a large fishery. Next he removed to Kittery-point, 
where he became a worthy merchant and a distinguished magis- 
trate, and where he died in 17.34. — He left one son, born in 1696, 
afterwards Sir William Pepperell, — the most famous man 
Maine ever produced. He was a member of the Province-council 
32 years, a Lieutenant-general, and in reward for his brilliant servi- 
ces, merits and successes in the capture of Louisburg, in 1746, 
the king ennobled him with the title and dignity of Baronet of 
Great Britain, — an honor never before nor since conferred on a 
native of New-England. He died at his seat in Kittery, July 6, 
1759, aged 63 years. — [See biographical sketches of him in the Biog. 
Die. of Doct. Allen and Doct. Elliot.] He had two children, 
namely, a son, Andrew, who graduated at Harvard College 1743, 
and died March 1, 1751, aged 26 years; and Elizabeth, his only 
daughter, born 1723, who married Col. Nathaniel Sparhawk, of 
Kittery* and who survived her father. To their second son, Wil- 
liam Pepperell Sparhawk, Sir William devised his great estate and 
' titled dignity' upon condition — he renounced and dropped his 
surname, on or before arriving at lawful age. Such a compliance 
probably cost him no great effort ; and accordingly we find at the 
head of the Harvard Catalogue of graduates, in 1766, "William 
Pepperell, Mr. " Baronettus". He settled in Boston ; was a man of 
eminence, one of the Mandamus Council, and consequently a noted 
loyalist in the Revolution. — He abandoned his spacious man- 
sion house there when the enemy left the town ; which was oc- 

* Col. Sparhawk, whose ancestors lived in Cambridge, is of the 4th generation ; 
his father, John Sparhawk, minister of Bristol, graduated at Harvard College, 
1689. left two sons, John, minister of Salem, and the Col. who w^as a Councillor 
and Judge of the Common Pleas in York County. He had three sons graduated 
at Harvard College, viz. Nathaniel, in 1765, CSir) William, 1766) and Samuel, 
1771 . 



687 



688 



APPENDIX 

cupied for a period by Major General Heath, and afterwards in 
1778, confiscated. He died in London, Dec. 17, 1816, when the 
title probably became eytinct. 

William Phillips, a distinguished man in Maine, removed from 
Boston to Saco, in 166C. His wife was the relict of John Sand- 
ford, Secretary of Rhode-Island, whose son, Peleg, was the Gover- 
nor of that Colony, and whose elder daughter married Elisha 
Hutchinson of Boston. The children of Mr. Phillips, after mar- 
riage with Mrs. Sandford, were three sons and five daughters. 
He soon became, it seems, a great landholder in the county of 
York ; for it is found that all the unsold 'patented' lands of Rich- 
ard Vines, situate on the southern side of the Saco, were conveyed 
by him in 1645, to Robert Childs ; by him in 1647, to John Beex 
and Company, in London, great traders to New-England ; and by 
them in 1656 and 9, for £90, to Mr. Phillips; and the General 
Court, in 1660, quieted all the settlers under Vines, upon the 'pa- 
tent' territory. Phillips purchased likewise of Sagamore Fluellen, 
in 1661, the territory between Mousum and Little Ossipee rivers, 
embracing most of the present Sandford, Alfred and Waterborough; 
and in 1664, he procured from Sagamore Mogg Hegone a quit- 
claim of all the lands between the Saco and the Kennebunk rivers, 
extending from the seacoast to a line parallel therewith, which 
was to run from Salmon Falls in the Saco to the Kennebunk. This 
included the above ' patented' purchase. He also made in the 
same year, two other purchases, one of Hobinowcll and the other 
of Captain Sundy, embracing the upper part of the present Hollis 
and the most of Limington. Still it was his good sense and his 
merits, more than his wealth, that gave him rank and influence. 
Amidst all the political changes of his time, he was highly es- 
teemed by all parties, and much in office. Within two years after 
he settled in the Province, he was elected one of the county-asso- 
ciates ; and was likewise " legally chosen by the major part of the 
" freemen and fidelity-men of this county, to exercise the place of 
" Sergeant-major, [or commandant of .the Yorkshire Regiment] 
" for the year ensuing, and his oath was given him at this Court, 
"holden at Wells, September 29, 1663." Though l^e was then 
under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts ; he, through an honest 
conviction of Gorges' rights, espoused his cause with spirit and 
perseverance, whenever the justice of counter claims was under 
discussion ; and therefore at the time the king's commissioners 
undertook to new-model the government, in 1665, he accepted 



APPENDIX. 

from them the oflice of magistrate and was reappoiiUcd command- 
er of the regim.ent. But this course of conduct, Nvhile it deduct- 
ed largely from his great popularity, gave so much umbrage to 
Massachusetts, that when she resumed the government, in 1668, 
she treated him with entire neglect; appointing in his stead, 
Bryan Pendleton, to the command of the Yorkshire regiment. 
Inclined at length to dispose of his real estate, he sold, before the 
year 1670, to Richard Hutchinson J, 000 acres; to Edward Tyng, 
1.500 ; to Richard Russel, 2,000 acres ; and three square miies, 16 
Lieutenant-Governor Leverett. In October, 1675, his dwelling- 
house was laid in ashes by the savages ; after v»hich event, he 
removed to Boston. The next year, he made partition of his east- 
ern estate, among his own children, and those of his wife by a 
former husband, Elisha Hutchinson's wife having one share, as 
previously mentioned. He died in 1683, having devised the res- 
idue of his valuable property to his Avife and three sons, Nathan- 
iel, Samuel, and William. Nor ought the fact to be passed unno- 
ticed, that when Gorges assigned Maine to Massachusetts, May 
6, 1677, he made a special reservation of all the grants made by 
Wjlliam* Phillips. 

Walter Phillips was an early settler on the south-westerly side of 
the Damariscotta, in New-Dartmouth, [Newcastle,] a little south- 
erly of the Lower Falls ; v/here, in 16(il and 2, and in 1674, he 
purchased large tracts of the Sagamores. He appears to have 
been a sensible man, worthy of public, coulidence, and acquainted 
with penmanship ; for when the king's commissioners, in 1G65, 
held a session at the house of John Mason, on Great Neck, east- 
erly of the Sheepscot, for the purpose cf establishing a govern- 
ment within the Duke's province of Sagadahock, they appointed 
Phillips, clerk, and county-recorder. He was faithful to his trust, 
and registered many deeds and otl»er valuable papers ; so that the 
" SiiEEPScoTT Records," kept by him, were, till burnt with the 
Boston Courthouse, in 1748, often both examined and mentioned, as 
documentary evidence of land-titles and facts. He retired from 
the Province, when the second Indian war commenced, about 
1688, and afterwards resided in Salem, some 15 or 16 years. In 
1702, he conveyed his eastern estate to Christopher Tappan of New- 
bury, and hence the " Tappan Right,^^ subsequently the occasion 
of so much altercation and controversy. 



689 



* Called in the assignment. " A'athanid." \>\- a niistnkf of the name 



590 APPENDIX. 

Roger Plaisted, early settled at Berwick, the north precinct of 
Kittery ; being one of the most excellent public-spirited men in 
his time. In 1663, and three other years, he represented Kittery in 
the General Court, at Boston, and two years he was an Associate. 
But his life was not a long one ; for as early in the first Indian war, 
as October, 1675, he being only 48 years of age, and also two of his 
sons, all men of Spartan valor, were slain in a battle with the 
savage enemy ; he being at the time commander of the military 
company and of the garrison, in that place. 

Abraham Preble removed from Scituate to Agamenticus in 1642, 
and the same year purchased of Edward Godfrey, a tract of land 
upon which he settled. He was one of the Council or Magistra- 
cy, under Sir Ferdinando's Charter, from 1645, to the time when 
the province was adopted, or subjugated by MassachusettSj in 
1652. Immediately, and for several years, he was one of the 
Associates, and in 1660, he was appointed County-treasurer. He 
died in 1663, in the height of public esteem. His son, Abraham, 
who died in 1723, in his 50th year, was a distinguished man : — 
his grandson was the famous Brigadier Preble of Falmouth ; and 
his great-grandson was Commodore Edward Preble. 

Thomas Purchas was the first settler at Pegypscot, [Brunswick] 
probably as early as 1625 or 6. His companion was George 
Way ; and it is said, that in 1632-3, they took from the Ply- 
mouth-council, a joint Patent of lands on both sides of the An- 
droscoggin, from the Lower Falls to its mouth ; and that he pur- 
chased the same tract of the Natives. He lived on the southerly 
side of Stevens' river near its head ; and was engaged in the fur- 
trade. He was so much noticed by Gov. William Gorges, as to 
be selected by him, in 1635, one of his Council. Becoming ap- 
prehensive for his own safety, however, or supposing himself neg- 
lected by Sir Ferdinando, in forming his new administration, he 
assigned the greater part of his wild lands, to Massachusetts, in 
1639 ; and at the same time, as well as in 1642, he put himself and 
his plantation under the protection of her government. As this 
measure probably answered no great purpose, he submitted, in 
165'1, to the New-Plymouth-government on the Kennebec ; took 
the oath of allegiance; and was elected sole Assistant to Mr. 
Prince, the Colony-commissioner. It appears, however, that he 
was one of those flexible patriots, who could accommodate his poli- 
tics to the changes of the times, as he accepted the office of Jus- 
tice under Archdale's brief authority, in 1664 ; though it is true, 



APPENDIX. QQl 

he might have justly believed, that all the civil and political rights 
of that Colony, within the Kennebec Patent, had ceased with the 
sale of it, three years before, and the acceptance of his new ap- 
pointment perfectly consistent. His house was plundered by the 
Indians^ in September, 1675 ; when he left Pegypscot, and we 
know nothing of his return. 

Francis Rai/nes, an inhabitant of York, noticed for his intelli- 
gence and his friendship to Gorges, was appointed, in 1664, one 
of Archdale's Justices. Nevertheless, on the re-assumption of 
government by Massachusetts, in 1668, he was chosen an Associ- 
ate, and subsequently took an active part in political affairs. 

Alcholas Reynal, who resided ou the easterly side of Sagada- 
hock, is a man whose name is not noticed, till 1665. Yet his 
character for respectability must have been previously known ; as 
the king's commissioners, while they were at Sheepscot, that 
year, appointed him a Justice of the peace for the Duke's province. 

Edward Rishworth, removed, in 1643, from Exeter, N. H., to 
Wells, with his minister. Rev. John Wheelwright, whose daugh- 
ter he had married. Leaving that place in a few years, he finally 
settled at Agamenticus. He was a man of good education, and 
considerable abilities, but what rendered him principally distin- 
guished was his gentlemanly manners, his penmanship and cler- 
ical correctness. Immediately on the assumption of government 
in Maine by Massachusetts, in 1652, he was appointed Recorder 
and one of the Associates, and continued to hold the same offices 
through a series of years. Also, between 1653 and 1679, both in- 
clusive, he had 13 elections as a Deputy from his town to the 
General Court at Boston, and one year, 1659, he was returned 
for Falmouth and Scarborough united ; it being no uncommon 
thing in his days, for towns to elect non-residents, their represent- 
atives. Being a professed friend to Massachusetts, he lost some 
part of her favor, by consenting to accept, as he did, the ofl^ice of 
Justice, under Archdale and under the king's commissioners, in 
1664 and 5 ; yet he afterwards so retrieved his reputation and re- 
gained his popularity, as to be appointed under President Dan- 
forth's administration, in 1680, one of the standing Council and 
the Recorder. These places he faithfully filled till his death, 
which occurred probably about the time the Charter of William 
and Mary arrived. The tragic death of his only daughter, the 
wife of Rev. Shubael Dummer, has been previously mentioned. 

^^^lliam Royally an emigrant to Salem, as early as 1629, became 
subsequently an original settler of North-Yarmouth, near the 



^92 APPENDIX. 

" mouth of Westgustego-river, which from him took its new name. 

On its easterly side, he purchased of Gov. Thomas Gorges, a 
tract of land, upon which he ultimately established his residence. 
He was an Assistant, in 1636, under William Gorges' short admin- 
istration of New-Somersetshire ; and again, in 1648, under that 
of Mr Cleaves in Lygouia. Though no mention is made of him 
in the first Indian war, we find the savages made him a prisoner, 
in 1688 ; and Baron de Castine, very generously ransomed him and 
set him at liberty. He had two sons — John, who lived in York, 
and William, born in 1640, who died in 1724. Hon. Isaac Roy- 
all was William's sou, born in 1672, who returned from An- 
tigua, in 1737, his previous place of residence several years, and 
died, 1739. 

Robert Scmkey, settled at Winter-harbor in Saco, was provost- 
marsh all under the administration of Gov. Thomas Gorges, in 
1640 ; and likewise under that organized by Mr. Cleaves, in 1646, 
over Lygonia. 

Humphrey Scamman, born at Portsmouth, in 1640, resided, after 
he was 21, successively, at Kittery, at Cape Porpoise, and ulti- 
mately at Saco, near the ferry, where he settled, about the year 
1680. The fear of suffering from the Indians was at that period 
by no means imaginary ; for in 1697, he and his family were taken 
and carried away captive by them to Canada; where they were 
detained so long that Mary, one of his daughters, became weaned 
of home, and married a Frenchman, and never returned. Mr. 
Scamman was a Representative to the General Court, in 1719, 
and died in 1727 ; of whose posterity, there have arisen several 
distinguished men. 

Joshua Scotlow — was a freeman in Boston, in 1639 ; and some 
years afterwards Captain of the Artillery Company,— also author 
of a couple of literary tracts. Becoming, in 1660 and 6, the as- 
signee and otherwise, the owner of Abraham and Henry Joscelyn's 
several farms in Scarboro', he removed thither after the first In- 
dian war and settled at Front's Neck. At the commencement of 
President Danforth's administration, in 1680, he was one of the 
Standing Council ; in 1683, the trustee of Scarborough and Fal- 
mouth townships ; and in 1688^ a Judge of Probate under Gov- 
ernor Andros. He died in 1698, at Boston ; leaving two daughters, 
who married in that town, aud a third who married Rev. Bejamin 
Blackman of Saco. He also left one son, Thomas Scottoio, a very 
worthy young man, who, when he had completed his education 



APPENDIX. 

and taken his degree at Harvard College, in 1677, returned to his 
father's family ; was appointed, in 1688, Register of Probate, and 
County-commissioner, under Sir Edmund Andros' short adminis- 
tration ; and the next year had command of the garrison in his 
town. But savage hostilities and his father's death, induced 
him to leave the place entirely; and in 1728 the estate was con- 
veyed to Timothy Prout, Esq. from whom the ' Neck' has deriv- 
ed its name. 

Nicholas Shapleigky an early settler in Kittery, was one of the 
first, who, in 1652, surrendered to Massachusetts, and consented 
to take the oath of allegiance. His example had great influence ; 
and indeed such was his weight of character, and so great his 
popularity, that in the course of a few years, he was either ap- 
pointed or elected to most of the offices, in the power of the gov- 
ernment or the people to give him. In the outset, he was a special 
commissioner for holding courts ; first county treasurer; in 1656, 
surgeant-major of Yorkshire Militia ; also several years, an As- 
sociate. But at length, he became so much a proselyte to the 
sentiments of the Quakers, that after he was elected an Associate 
in 1663, he refused to be sworn. This raised in Massachusetts, 
and among many in Maine, a persecuting spirit against him which 
ran to such a height, as to arouse in him a proportionate opposition. 
He accepted, at the hand of Archdale, the appointment of com- 
missioner, from Gorges, the Lord-proprietor's heir of the Province ; 
espousing boldly his rights, and protesting with great zeal, against 
all the acts and orders of Massachusetts, within the Province of 
Maine. His chief colleagues in the opposition, were Joscelyn, 
Jordan and Champernoon ; all of whom were indicted by the 
Grand-jury, at the ensuing term of Yorkshire court, for divers 
contempts and political misdemeanors. But he utterly refused to 
hold any office, under the king's commissioners : and his wisdom, 
fidelity and conscientious circumspection, apparent in the discharge 
of every duty, through a period of several years, greatly mitigated 
the asperity of public feeling ; and partially restored him to favor; 
so that he was appointed, at the close of king Phillip's war, a 
commissioner to treat with the Indians, — a trust which he execut- 
ed April 12, 1678. He was also a deputy from Kittery, in 1682, 
to the General Assembly, under Danforth's administration. — It is 
supposed, that Benjamin Shapleigh, born in Boston, 1645, was 
his only son. 

Vol. I. 75 



693 



594 APPENDIX. 

Abraham Shurie* when quite a young man, came over to our 
shores, under the auspices of Gyles Elbridge, and Robert Aids- 
worth, in 1625; and one of the first acts, we find of his as their 
agent, was the purchase of Monhegan, the same year. He resid- 
ed at Pemaquid, was superintendant of their affairs, and sole 
or chief magistrate of the people, till Thomas Elbridge came 
over and took possession of the Patent under his brother's will, 
executed September 11, 1646. We hear little of Mr. Shiirte, for 
the succeeding forty years. He was probably the assistant of El- 
bridge in the management of affairs, civil and political, before 
and after his sale of the Patent in 1651 and 7, till the king's Com- 
missioners assumed the government in September, 1665. Of those 
who took the oath of allegiance at that time to the Duke of 
York, we find the name of Elbridge, not that of Shurte. The 
latter was a man of great prudence and discretion. As the com- 
missioners had their session at Great Neck, on the Sheepscot, 
and he had chosen a residence in the wilderness for the sake of 
liberty, perhaps he thought it fraught with circumspection to re- 
remain at home. No notice appears to have been taken of him 
in any of their measures ; nor by Massachusetts in 1674, when 
she established Devonshire ; though she made Pemaquid the 
county-town. His conduct towards the natives was always evin- 
cive of good sense, and exhibited exemplary kindness. In 1631, 
he restored to Lynn, a Sagamore, his wife, who had been made a 
captive by a party of the Abenacues ; and in king Philip's war, 
he made repeated efforts — not without success, to conciliate the 
temper of the Indians, and counteract a rising spirit among the 
whites, incentive to hostilities. He was uniformly a useful 
man, being in 1686, "town clerk of Pemaquid," when he must 
have been upwards of 80 years of age. It is said he died in 1690. 

Roger Spencer removed from Charleston to Saco in 1658 ; and 
two years afterwards, joined Thomas Clark in the purchase of Ar- 
rowsick Island. He also joined Major Pendleton in the purchase of 
the Neck, where he settled, and built the first mill ever erected 
on Saco-river. At the end of ten years he returned to Boston. 
He had several children ; and it is interesting to know, that one of 
his daughters had two husbands, the first was John Hull, a trader in 
that town, and the other was [Sir] William Phips ; and another 



* Soinelimes spelt " Shurd," or even "Short," but he UTote his own name 
" Shurte." 



APPENDIX. 696 

married Doct. David Bennet of Rowley, Massachusetts. Ben- 
net's son, Spencer, adopted by Sir William, who had no child, 
took his surname and succeeded to his fortune.. He heads the list 
of graduates at Harvard College in 1703 ; was Province-councillor 
and Lieutenant-governor; and died April 1757, aged 73 years. 
His son, William Phips, was graduated at the same college in 
1728. 

Edward Tyng was the second son of his father, whose chris- 
tian name he bore, and who came over in 1636, and settled at 
Boston. The father was an eminent man, being an Assistant 14 
years, and Col. of Suffolk regiment. Edward, the son, removed 
to Falmouth Neck, about 1678-9, where he married the daughter 
of Thaddeus Clark, son-in-law of George Cleaves. Being a man 
of more than common intellect, and of great military taste — well 
acquainted with public afTairs, he soon entered upon a political 
career, which continued to his death.. It commenced with the 
administration of Pres. Danforth, in 1680, when he was imme- 
diately appointed to the command of Fort Loyal ; a trustee of 
Falmouth-township ; and a member of the Provincial-council ; — 
offices which he held with honor to himself, till the commence- 
ment of the revolutionary changes under Pres. Dudley, in 168C, 
and of Gov. Andros, in 1687. Nor was it very unexpected, that, 
as the former had married his sister, he should be appointed, as 
he was, a member of the Council under Mr. Dudley and Mr. An- 
dros, in each of their administrations. The latter also gave him 
a Colonel's commission, which embraced the militia, both in 
Maine and the Duke's province ; and when the re-organization of 
government under Pres. Danforth, in May, 1689, was confirmed, 
Col. Tyng was one of his Council — and re-appointed commander of 
the Eastern Regiment, — as Major Charles Frost was of the west- 
ern one. In short, such was the grade he held in public estima- 
tion, that he was selected and subsequently appointed Governor of 
Nova Scotia, after the Province was subdued by Phips, in May, 
1690. But in his passage to Annapolis, he was taken prisoner by 
the French and sent to France where he died. He left two sons 
and two daughters. 1. Edward, born 1683, was the brave 
naval Commodore, at the siege of Louisbourg, (1745) ; and 2, 
Jonathan, of Woburn, a member of Andros' Council and a magis- 
trate of influence, who also had two sons. These were, 1, John, 
who was graduated at Harvard College, 1691, lived at Chelmsford, 
was a Major, killed by the Indians in 1710, and left a son, John, 



696 



APPENDIX. 

graduated at the same College, 1725, the eccentric Judge Tyng 
of Tyngsboro, Mass. ; and 2, Eleazer, Colonel of the Middlesex 
Regiment. William Tyng, who was Sheriff of Cumberland 
County, Maine, and died sometime since, at Gorhara, was the 
son of Commodore Tyng. 

Richard Vines, who first visited Maine in 1609, and again in 
1616, could boast of having been in the country several years 
before any other inhabitant that could be found. His voyages 
hither, were under the direction of Sir Ferdinando Gorges ; who 
induced him and his companions to come over, explore the coun- 
try and select a place for settlement. Accordingly, they passed 
the winter 1616-17, at the mouth of the river Saco, since called 
'Winter Harbor,' and on the 12th of February, 1629, old style, 
Vines and John Oldham took from the Plymouth-council, a patent 
of lands, eight miles on the western side of the river by four on 
the coast, — Vines having already resided there five or six years, 
and becoming subsequently sole patentee. He was principal su- 
perintendant of the plantation, till the arrival of Gov. William 
Gorges in 1635, who appointed him one of his Council or Assist- 
ants. Next, in 1640, he was constituted one of Sir Ferdinando's 
charter-council, and appointed his steward-general, — places which 
he filled till the year 1643, when, on the departure of Thomas 
Gorges, he was promoted to the office of Deputy-governor. He 
looked with carefulness to his own affairs and was considered at 
one time a man of considerable wealth. But in consequence of 
heavy losses sustained by d'Aulney and others, at the same time 
determined never to be a subject of Col. Rigby's government, he 
sold his whole patent, Oct. 20, 1645, to Doct. Robert Childs, 
and after a residence of 22 years, at Saco, he removed to the Isl- 
and Barbadoes. Though Mr. Vines was an Episcopalian and roy- 
alist, his sentiments were ingenuous, and he sustained an excel- 
lent character. Subsequent to his removal, he had a correspond- 
ence with Gov. Winthrop of Boston, in 1647 and 8, by which, in 
taking our farewell of him, we are enabled to form a very favor- 
able opinion of his pious principles as well as his good sense. 



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